Emily Brocklebank was sentenced on Tuesday to 21 days in jail for damaging property, with a six-month suspended sentence. However, the 24-year-old is subject to an electronically monitored six-week curfew. The verdict against the 22-year-old co-defendant was not initially known.
On June 30, the two Just Stop Oil activists glued themselves to the frame of the painting “Peach Trees in Blossom” (1889) at the Courtauld Gallery in London. This resulted in damage of almost 2000 pounds (2300 euros). Judge Neeta Minhas said the 18th-century picture frame was permanently damaged. “The painting has great historical and artistic value and I consider the damage significant,” said Minhas.
Just Stop Oil defended the action. Art must be protected and valued. “But our government’s decision to pursue new fossil fuel projects will destroy our entire culture and the future of the young people who took these measures,” the organization said. Just Stop Oil continues to offer nonviolent resistance.
(SDA)