Three climate activists appeared in a London court on Saturday for criminal damages that arose during protests on Friday in which two of them threw soup at Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ painting at the National Gallery .
Two women, aged 20 and 21, were charged with throwing the soup at the artwork, while the third was charged with painting a rotating Metropolitan Police sign in central London.
The three women pleaded not guilty to criminal damage in the trial court in two brief hearings.
Demonstrators from the climate change protest groups Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, who want the UK government to stop allowing new oil and gas projects, staged a series of demonstrations in London on Friday.
“Just Stop Oil” has made no secret that its activists threw two cans of tomato soup at Van Gogh’s oil painting, one of the Dutch artist’s most emblematic works. The two demonstrators also glued themselves to the wall of the gallery.
Prosecutor of the case, Ola Oyedepo, said the duo did not damage the paintwork, which was covered in a protective glass case, but there was damage to the frame.
The painting, one of many versions of “Sunflowers” that Van Gogh painted in the late 1880s, was cleaned and returned to its place in the National Gallery on Friday afternoon.
The judge released the women on bail, on the condition that they not be covered in paint or adhesive substances in a public place.
Police made 28 arrests in connection with Friday’s protests, while another 25 people were released on bail pending further investigation.
Police arrested a further 26 people on Saturday after ‘Just Stop Oil’ protesters blocked a high street in east London. Some demonstrators stuck to the road.
This new wave of protests comes as the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss opened a new licensing round for oil and gas operations in the North Sea.
Environmentalists argue that the UK government is undermining the fight against climate change.