Two climate activists in their early 20s were sentenced to prison by a London court on Friday for throwing soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting during a protest against fossil fuels.
Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, both members of the protest group Just Stop Oil, received prison sentences of two years and 20 months, respectively, according to PA Media.
These sentences are the latest in a series of prison terms given to climate activists in the UK for participating in disruptive protests against fossil fuel use.
Two recently implemented, controversial laws have expanded the authority of police and courts to suppress protests deemed disruptive, even if they are nonviolent.
The harsh penalties did little to dissuade the group, as just hours after the sentencing, three more Just Stop Oil activists threw soup over two additional Van Gogh sunflower paintings in the Poets and Lovers exhibition at the National Gallery, the same venue where the 2022 protest took place, according to the organization.
Plummer and Holland were found guilty of criminal damage for pouring tomato soup on the famous artwork in October 2022, damaging the painting’s golden frame.
In addition to the soup attack, the activists glued themselves to the wall beneath the painting at London’s National Gallery. While the “Sunflowers” painting, valued at over $84 million, was protected by glass, the protesters caused £10,000 (approximately $13,000) in damage to its frame.
Activists Throw Soup on Van Gogh Painting (Photo: Getty Images)
Judge Christopher Hehir reprimanded the two in court, stating that the “cultural treasure” could have been “seriously damaged or even destroyed” by their actions.
“Soup might have seeped through the glass. You couldn’t have cared less if the painting was damaged or not,” the judge said. “You had no right to do what you did to ‘Sunflowers.’”
In addition to her sentence, Plummer received an extra three-month term for her involvement in a 2023 “slow march” protest, which caused traffic delays in west London.
“You clearly think your beliefs give you the right to commit crimes when you feel like it. You do not,” the judge added.
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Judge Hehir has presided over similar cases, recently handing down lengthy sentences to five climate activists for their participation in disruptive protests. All were members of Just Stop Oil or its allied group, Extinction Rebellion.
Plummer, who represented herself in court, stated: “My choice today is to accept whatever sentence I receive with a smile. It is not just myself being sentenced today, or my co-defendants, but the foundations of democracy itself.”
The UK government has faced criticism from human rights groups and the UN’s special rapporteur on environmental defenders, Michael Forst, for its protest laws. Forst described the laws as being enforced in “punitive and repressive” ways.
