Two 20-year-old women and another 21-year-old have been charged
On Saturday, three climate activists were charged with criminal damage after throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting in the National Gallery as part of a protest. Two 20-year-old women and a 21-year-old woman were charged in connection with the soup-throwing protest on Friday. A third woman was charged for spray-painting a rotating sign at the Metropolitan Police headquarters in central London. During two short hearings at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, the three women said they were not guilty of criminal damage.
The paint was not damaged, but the frame was.
Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, two groups that protest climate change, held a series of protests in London on Friday. They want the U.K. government to stop all new oil and gas projects. Just Stop Oil said that activists dumped two cans of tomato soup over one of Van Gogh's most famous oil paintings. They also stuck themselves to the wall of the gallery. Prosecutor Ola Oyedepo said that the two didn't damage the oil painting because it was in a glass case, but they did damage the frame. Van Gogh painted several versions of "Sunflowers" in the late 1880s. On Friday afternoon, the painting was cleaned and put back in its place in the National Gallery. The women were given bail by District Judge Tan Irkam as long as they didn't go out in public with paint or glue on them.
Their actions have earned them a lot of attention and criticism
Police said that they arrested about 28 people in connection with the protests on Friday. Another 25 people were released on bail while the investigation continues. On Saturday, 26 more people were arrested after protesters with the group Just Stop Oil blocked a major road in east London. Some of the protesters stuck themselves to the road. Just Stop Oil's disruptive actions, such as destroying art in museums, have gotten them a lot of attention and criticism. In July, activists stuck themselves to the frames of "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci at London's Royal Academy of Arts and "The Hay Wain" by John Constable at the National Gallery.
During two weeks of protests in London against the way the U.K. government deals with climate change, activists have also blocked bridges and intersections. The latest round of protests happened when the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss opened a new licensing round for oil and gas operations in the North Sea and reversed a ban on fracking in England that was set to go into effect in 2019. Environmentalists say that the U.K. government is making it harder to fight climate change.
Selena Mattei
