Two Munch thieves get longer terms

The Norwegian Supreme Court on Friday increased the sentences of two men convicted in the theft of Edvard Munch masterpieces “The Scream” and “Madonna” and ordered a new trial for a third convicted man.

The paintings, which are considered priceless, were stolen in August 2004 in a daylight raid on Oslo’s city-owned Munch Museum. They were recovered by police nearly two years later and are undergoing repairs for scrapes, punctures, loose paint and moisture damage.

All three men appealed their April 2006 sentences from a lower court last month.

In its unanimous 12-page ruling, Norway’s highest court said sentences for two of the men, Petter Tharaldsen and Stian Skjold, were too low considering the “irreplaceable national cultural value” of the paintings.

The court increased Tharaldsen’s sentence by one year to 10 1/2 years and Skjold’s sentence by six months to six years.

But the court rejected the conviction of a third man, Bjoern Hoen, saying testimony in his trial may have been tainted, and sent his case back to the lower courts for a new trial.