Activists who attacked ‘girl with pearl earring’ jailed for two months

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Three Belgians, aged 42-45, “stuck” last week to the glass that protects this precious painting, in the Mauritschau museum in The Hague. Similar acts of vandalism have taken place in other parts of Europe.

Two environmental activists were today sentenced to two months in prison – one suspended – for “attacking” the Girl with the Pearl Earring, the famous Johannes Vermeer painting on display in a museum in the Netherlands.

Three Belgians, aged 42-45, “stuck” last week to the glass that protects this precious painting, in the Mauritschau museum in The Hague. Similar acts of vandalism have taken place in other parts of Europe.

The painting was not damaged. But the court in The Hague ruled that it spoiled the frame and described the action of the three activists as “shocking” for many. “You can imagine how fragile the painting is and the fact that it would have been lost if things had gone wrong,” a judge said, according to Dutch news agency ANP.

The prosecution was asking for a four-month prison sentence for the suspect, Wooter M., for sticking his head in the window, and a similar sentence for the second suspect, Peter G., who filmed the scene.

The third activist, who threw a can of what appeared to be ketchup, will go on trial on Friday.

RES-EMP

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