Two environmental activists were sentenced today to two months in prison (one suspended) for “attacking” Girl with a Pearl Earring, a famous painting by Johannes Vermeer exhibited at a museum in Netherlands.
Three Belgians aged 42-45 last week “stuck” to the glass protecting this precious painting at the Mauritschau Museum in The Hague. Similar acts of vandalism took place in other parts of Europe.
BREEK – Meisje met Parel van Johannes Vermeer Besmerd in #Mauritshuis. pic.twitter.com/XzAZTOoBv9
— Stephen Bakker (@Kolpen) October 27, 2022
The painting was not damaged. But a court in The Hague ruled that it spoiled the shot and called the act of the three activists “shocking” to many. “You can imagine how fragile the painting is and the fact that it would be lost if something went wrong,” the judge said, according to Dutch news agency ANP.
The prosecution wanted a four-month prison sentence for the suspect, Woeter M., for sticking his head out the window, and a similar sentence for the second suspect, Peter G., who filmed the scene.
A third activist who threw a can of ketchup will stand trial on Friday.
Source: APE/MEB
Source: Kathimerini
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