A Chinese Buddha statue with the mummified body of a Buddhist monk inside is on display at the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest, Hungary on March 3, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

The legal suit against a Dutch collector will soon be brought to court, said Liu, the chief attorney of a group of multinational lawyers, according to a report by China Youth Daily.

The Dutch private collector, who owns a contested 1,000-year-old Buddha statue with a mummified monk inside, first responded by saying he was willing to cede the relic "if it is proven to have belonged to a Buddhist community that still exists," but later changed his stance and rejected negotiations.

The Dutch collector recently told the Xinhua News Agency reporters about his proposed return of three conditions: "First, I ask that the statue be returned to a Buddhist temple, rather than the village temple. Secondly, I wanted to do independent research which is not related to the statue, and the Chinese side agreed to cooperate with me, but the necessary cooperation has not materialized. Third, I asked for reasonable compensation, which I was not given. I put the Buddha in a collection of statues; if someone buys the entire set and bring it to China, the Buddha's unit price will not be known. They do not intend to do so."

Taking the three conditions proposed by the collector, the prosecuting law group hopes to send the latest letter to the collector by email or express, said Liu to China Youth Daily.

Being informed that some villagers could not accept the collector's conditions, Liu said that their group is authorized to represent the village by village committee.

"After the letter is sent out, we cannot unveil details about it," Liu added.

The statue of Buddha contains the mummified body of Zhanggong Zushi, a local villager who became a monk in his twenties. He was famed for helping people, treating diseases and spreading Buddhist belief.