The trial of October 14, 2022 concluded with the conviction of the two Just Stop Oil activists who had sprayed a painting from Van Gogh’s famous series Sunflowers kept at the National Gallery in London. The two vandals were sentenced by British justice to prison terms on September 27, 2024. Phoebe Plummer, aged 23, will serve two years in prison and Anna Holland, 22, is sentenced to 20 months in prison. Phoebe Plummer had already been sentenced to 3 months in prison in November 2023 for acts of degradation in public spaces.
“The soup could have gone through the window”said Christopher Hehir, the judge in charge of the case. “If certain people repeat this type of crime, the Court must send a message (…) to show that this is not acceptable and that it cannot continue”said Quentin Hunt, a lawyer at the television channel Eco-activists.
Environmental activists splashing Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” soup at the National Gallery in London, October 14, 2022.
© Rich Felgate / Just Stop Oil
The painting, protected by glass, suffered no damage during the incident. Tomato juice, however, attacked the gilded frame, which underwent repairs at a cost of £10,000. The frame, purchased by the museum in 1999, was valued at £28,000, reports the BBC.
The two activists appeared in court in October 2022. Their gesture was part of a series of actions launched by Just Stop Oil to demand an end to the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the United Kingdom. The activists were released on the condition of not entering a museum.
Greenpeace condemned the court decision and denounced the British government’s stigmatization of activists. “This is a draconian and disproportionate punishment for a protest that caused minor damage to a frame and no damage to the actual canvas. This is another dark step in the ongoing repression against peaceful protests led by this government”said Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK.
In July 2024, five environmental activists, including the leader of Just Stop Oil, were sentenced to 5 years in prison by Judge Christopher Hehir for organizing the blocking of the London ring road in 2022. Lora Johnson, 38, accused of having thrown orange paint on a police sign in front of Scotland Yard headquarters, was acquitted on May 14, 2024, indicates a press release published by Just Stop Oil.
A few hours after the announcement of the conviction of the two activists, three activists from Just Stop Oil again sprayed two of the Sunflowers of Van Gogh at the National Gallery.
