The display case suffered “minor damage”, according to the British Library where two copies of the Magna Carta are kept. The two activists were charged with “criminal damage”.
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New punching action. Two octogenarians from the environmental group Just Stop Oil were charged on Saturday May 11 for damaging the display case protecting a copy of the Magna Carta, the founding text of modern democracy exhibited at the British Library in London.
A video released on May 10 by the group, accustomed to spectacular actions, shows the two women attacking the thick glass by hitting a chisel with a hammer. “This document is about the rule of law, and opposition to the abuse of power. Our government is breaking its own laws”says Judy Bruce, 85, in the Just Stop Oil video. “I am a Christian and I am compelled to do everything I can to alleviate the terrible suffering that is coming and is already here”then continues the Reverend Sue Parfitt, 82 years old.
The two octogenarians then stuck their hands together, according to Just Stop Oil, which is campaigning for the government to establish a plan to end the use of fossil fuels by 2030. The activists were quickly arrested, and were charged on Saturday with “criminal damage” and released on bail, ahead of their appearance scheduled for June 20.
A historical text
The British Library holds two of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, a 1215 text establishing that the king and his government are not above the law. The British Library said the two activists caused “minor damage” to the window, without damaging the Magna Carta. The work inspired numerous legal texts including the Petition for Rights of 1628, the Constitution of the United States of 1787 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
