Sana'a, Yemen  - A French engineer appeared in a court in the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Monday to face the charge of attempting to smuggle ancient artefacts.

The 58-year-old Frenchman, whose name was withheld pending the verdict, was arrested at Sana'a international airport on Thursday after customs officers discovered 31 antiquities in his luggage as he was departing for Paris, prosecutors said.

The seized artefacts included eight bronze statuettes, five fake stone statuettes, 15 ancient coins and three stone stamps, they said.

Prosecutor Abdul-Elah al-Qurashi told the court the defendant "attempted to smuggle national cultural properties out of Yemen."

The defendant, who was accompanied by an official from the French embassy in Sana'a, admitted to possessing the artefacts, but said he had received them as a gift from a colleague in a giant gas-exporting project in south-eastern Yemen.

He said he had not been aware that transferring antiquities was punishable under Yemeni law and that he had not intend to commit any wrongdoing by trying to take them to France.

The court ordered him released on bail for health reasons and adjourned the case until May 12.

The man was arrested Thursday and prosecutors ordered him be detained for seven days pending investigation.

He could face up to five years in jail if the court convicts him. (dpa)