Vatican court sentences eco-activists to prison for damaging art.
(Photo: Unsplash)Two environmental activists have been found guilty of vandalism for
gluing themselves to a statue in the Vatican Museums. In the
conclusion of the much-talked-about trial on Monday, Vatican
judges sentenced the activists to nine months in prison and
charged them a 1,500 euro fine with a suspended sentence of five years.
Guido Viero, 61, and Ester Goffi, 26, glued themselves to the statue
of "Laocoön and His Sons," in the famed Vatican Museums last
summer. A third activist, Laura Zorzini, filmed the other two in
action with her phone. Zorzini was sentenced to pay a 120 euro fine.
Vatican City only has three prison cells, and its courts rarely
sentence individuals to jail.
The activists belong to the environmentalist group Ultima
Generazione, "Last Generation," which has become famous
in Italy in recent years for drawing attention to the climate crisis
through acts of vandalism targeting the country's famed historical
sites.
"Nine months of jail for one gram of glue," Ultima Generazione
commented on Twitter. "An exaggerated sentence, which doesn't
want to recognize the drama of the situation that pushed to protest."
The activists will also have to pay a 120 euro fine for trespassing.
Viero and Goffi will have to compensate the Vatican City State for
the damage done to the statue for a total of 28,148 euros.
The judges decided the offense will not be added to the Vatican's
criminal records unless the eco-activists transgress again.
Speaking to RNS on the day of the second trial hearing on May 24,
Last Generation activists said they hoped Pope Francis would
intercede for Goffi and Viero.
"He is more radical than we are," said Tommaso Juhasz, a member
of the Last Generation. "If one reads 'Laudato Si' and what it says
and what it demands, it's much more radical than we are," he added,
referencing Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical promoting the care for the
environment and the need for nations to come together to fight climate
change.
Last Generation declined to comment by the time this article was
published.
© Religion News Service
