Climate activists jailed for targeting van Gogh masterpiece
Two climate activists from the group Just Stop Oil splashed tomato soup on the glass protecting Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery. On Friday, they were sentenced to prison for their senseless act.
The scandalous incident occurred in October 2022. Twenty-three-year-old Phoebe Plummer and twenty-two-year-old Anna Holland splashed tomato soup on "Sunflowers" and glued themselves to the wall beneath the artwork. Fortunately, the painting is protected by a glass pane.
The prosecution indicated that the soup caused damage to the painting's frame, valued at £10,000. The painting itself was unharmed and was back on display the same day.
Both activists did not plead guilty, but the judge at the Crown Court in London's Southwark borough emphasized that they were "a pane's width away from irreparable damage, or even destruction," of a painting that is "probably priceless in the literal sense."
Plummer was sentenced to two years in prison, and Holland to twenty months.
Just Stop Oil organisation became famous for protests
Operating in the United Kingdom since February 2022, the group Just Stop Oil, which demands a cessation of fossil fuels, gained notoriety through protests.
Activists glued themselves to roads, blocking traffic, disrupting sporting and cultural events, and splashing orange paint on bank storefronts, paintings in museums, and landmarks.
