Sir Winston Churchill’s statue was defaced by a pro-Palestinian activist who sprayed ‘Zionist war criminal’ across it, a court heard.
Casbar San Giorgi, 39, is accused of causing more than £7,000 worth of damage to the bronze monument of Britain’s Second World War prime minister at 4am on February 27.
The Dutchman allegedly scaled the 20-foot-high sculpture dressed in a black overcoat with a red boiler suit underneath with the words: ‘I support Palestine Action’ across his back.
He is said to have written: ‘Free Palestine’, ‘Globalise the intifada’ and ‘Stop the genocide’ on both the statue of Sir Winston and the plinth beneath it in Parliament Square, Westminster.
He was caught when a heritage warden for the Greater London Authority, which is responsible for the monument’s upkeep, spotted him during a patrol, his trial heard.
Giorgi, who also uses the alias Olax Outis and has no fixed address in Britain, is accused of one count of criminal damage at Southwark Crown Court.
Peter Ratliff, prosecuting, told the jury the case was not about the defendant’s views on Palestine or Israel, but about the evidence before them.
He said: ‘The fact that the defendant appears to have been concerned about the events in Gaza and related topics cannot provide him with a defence.
Casbar San Giorgi at Southwark Crown Court where he denies one charge of criminal damage
Jurors were shown an image of Winston Churchill’s statue during the prosecution opening
‘The prosecution’s case is the defendant, armed with cans of red spray paint and a ladder, went to the statue.
‘He used the ladder to climb the plinth, then began defacing the statue and then the plinth.
‘He was spotted by a heritage warden for the Greater London Authority who approached the defendant and told him to get down and stop graffitiing the statue immediately.
‘The defendant told him that he was doing a protest and that he should call the police.’
The police were already driving to the statue and arrived at 4.10am.
Officers got Giorgi off the statue and arrested him on suspicion of causing criminal damage.
Hours later specialised repair works lasting two days began which required elevated platforms and police barriers.
Giorgi denies one charge of criminal damage.
The trial before Recorder Mukul Chawla KC continues.
