OSLO - Six men pleaded not guilty two weeks ago, when they went on trial over the theft of Edvard Munch's masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna", snatched from an Oslo museum 18 months ago. Five of the men - Stian Skjold, Petter Tharaldsen, Bjoern Hoen, Petter Rosenvinge and Morten Hugo Johansen -- are charged with planning or taking part in the theft. The sixth, Thomas Nataas, is accused of handling stolen goods. The two 1893 paintings have never been recovered despite a 2 million Norwegian crowns ($292,900) reward offer."No" the men said in turn when judge Arne Lyng asked them if they were guilty of the main charges in Oslo's central court. Lyng later adjourned until Thursday to give defence lawyers time to review 10,000 phone taps recently presented by police. The accused, who are in their 20s and 30s, face up to 17 years in jail if found guilty at the trial, likely to take up to six weeks.

Prosecutors say those guilty should also pay compensation -- 500 million crowns ($73.23 million) for "The Scream", 250 million for "Madonna". Lyng and two other judges will decide on the case. There is no jury. Defence lawyers took turns to say that their clients were not involved and that the allegations were hearsay. "There is no technical evidence that Stian Skjold was in the location described," lawyer Anja Hellander said of her client, accused by prosecutors of being one of the two men who grabbed the paintings. Two men wearing black ski masks, one of them waving a handgun, burst into the Munch Museum on Aug. 22, 2004, tore the two artworks from the walls in front of dozens of tourists and drove off.

"The Scream", showing a waif-like figure clutching its head under a swirling blood-red sky, has become a symbol of angst after a century scarred by horrors from the atom bomb to the Holocaust. "Madonna" shows a mysterious bare-breasted woman with long black hair. Motives for the robbery are unclear but Norwegian media have speculated that it was to distract investigators from a bank robbery in the western port of Stavanger in April 2004 when $10 million was stolen and a police officer shot dead. In 1994, another version of "The Scream" -- Munch painted two famous versions of his masterpiece -- was stolen for several months from Norway's National Gallery by thieves who simply broke a window and climbed in with a ladder. The Munch Museum has since undergone a 40-million Norwegian crown security upgrade.

Public prosecutor Terje Nyboe said he would urge a reduction in sentences for the men should they be found guilty if any of the accused offered information about where the paintings were hidden. Police believe the works are hidden somewhere in Norway.

Reuters