Climate activists jailed for vandalizing van Gogh's masterpiece

Two climate activists from the Just Stop Oil group splashed tomato soup on the glass protecting Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at the National Gallery in London. On Friday, they were sentenced to prison for their thoughtless act.

The scandalous incident took place in October 2022. Twenty-three-year-old Phoebe Plummer and twenty-two-year-old Anna Holland splashed tomato soup on the "Sunflowers" and glued themselves to the wall under the artwork. Fortunately, the painting is protected by a glass pane.

The prosecution stated that the soup caused damage to the painting's frame, worth up to $12,000. The painting was not harmed and returned to display the same day.

Both activists pleaded not guilty, but the judge at Southwark Crown Court in London emphasized that "they were a pane's thickness away from irreversible damage or even destruction" of the painting, which is "probably priceless in the literal sense."

Plummer was sentenced to two years in prison, and Holland to 20 months.

Operating in the United Kingdom since February 2022, the group Just Stop Oil, which demands an end to fossil fuels, gained notoriety through protests.

Activists glued themselves to roads, blocking traffic, disrupting sporting and cultural events, and splashing orange paint on bank windows and paintings in museums and monuments.