2009-06-29 18:01:12 -

OSLO (AP) - A Norwegian court on Monday convicted a man of involvement in the 2004 theft of Edvard Munch's masterpiece paintings «The Scream» and «Madonna.
The Oslo Court of Appeals found Bjoern Hoen guilty of abetting the theft of the two priceless paintings since, according to prosecutors, he had helped obtain the car used in the heist. It sentenced Hoen to two and a half years in prison.
The court, which was made up of three judges and four jurors, effectively upheld a lower court's conviction in 2006, but reduced the sentence from eight and a half years because the defendant was not aware that the Munch paintings would become the target of the crime.
The court also ruled that Hoen would not have to pay for damages to the paintings, which had to undergo restoration after they were recovered in 2006.
Hoen, who has already spent 14 months in jail, told judges he was unsure whether he would appeal. He has 14 days to decide.
Munch's legendary paintings were stolen in 2004 from Oslo's state-run Munch Museum in broad daylight by two men, one of whom was armed.
Petter Tharaldsen, who drove the getaway car, and gunman Stian Skjold are serving prison sentences of ten and a half years and six years respectively for armed robbery.

Both men were also ordered by the courts to pay restitution for damages to the paintings, which experts consider to be priceless.
This was Hoen's fifth court appearance on the charge. Last year Norway's Supreme Court threw out an earlier conviction, citing tainted testimony.
Munch's emotionally charged painting style became a major influence in the birth of the 20th-century Expressionist movement. Munch died in 1944 at the age of 80.