Vatican court convicts climate activists for damaging statue

Thursday, June 15th, 2023

A Vatican court convicted two environmental activists of aggravated damage Monday and ordered them to pay more than 28,000 euros (NZ$49,000) in restitution.

The ruling came after the activists glued their hands to the base of an ancient statue in the Vatican Museums in a protest to draw attention to climate change.

The two members of the Last Generation environmental activist group, Guido Viero and Ester Goffi, also received a nine-month suspended sentence and were fined 1,620 euros apiece.

A third activist on trial with them, Laura Zorzini, was fined 120 euros.

The trial stemmed from an Aug 18 protest in the Vatican Museums, during which Viero and Goffi glued their hands to the base of the Laocoon statue, one of the most important ancient works in the collection that is believed to date from the 1st century BC.

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