Three Belgian climate activists who were previously sentenced to prison for a protest targeting Johannes Vermeer’s painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring” will no longer face any punishment for their actions, a Dutch court of appeal ruled on Monday.
The demonstrators, who are part of the campaign group Just Stop Oil Belgium, were originally given two-month jail sentences for their protest, which took place in October 2022 at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands.
One man glued his head to the glass protecting the famous painting, while another threw tomato soup over the first man and then glued his own hand to the wall. A third man filmed the demonstration.
The museum said after the incident that the 17th-century masterpiece was “undamaged,” and it was returned to public view the next day. The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service added that the 19th-century frame had, however, been damaged in the …