Climate change protesters fined over ‘Last Supper’ protest

Five climate change protesters were fined yesterday [Macau time] for gluing themselves to the frame of a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” in the Royal Academy of Arts.

The five activists from the group Just Stop Oil glued their hands to the painting’s border and one sprayed graffiti on the wall at the London museum in July, as part of a series of disruptive protests aimed at raising awareness about climate change.

Following a two-day trial, District Judge William Nelson ordered all five to pay 486 pounds ($587) each for criminal damage. He said the protesters were “reckless” because they knew they would damage the painting’s frame — but also said that the “primary cause” of the protest “was to gain media attention and not to cause damage to a work of art.”

The 16th-century painting, which was unharmed, is attributed to one or more of Da Vinci’s pupils and is believed to be the most accurate record of the original.

Just Stop Oil said it wanted to put pressure on Britain’s government to halt new oil and gas licenses.