A pro-Palestine activist who spray-painted slogans onto a statue of Sir Winston Churchill has been found not guilty of criminal damage.
Olax Outis, who is also known as Caspar San Giorgi, climbed onto the statue in Parliament Square in February, wearing a red boiler suit emblazoned with the words “I support Palestine Action”.
He was accused of causing more than £7,000 of damage by using red spray paint to cover the statue with phrases including “stop the genocide” and “Free Palestine”, describing Churchill as a “Zionist war criminal”, and calling for then-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to stand trial for war crimes.
But he denied the criminal damage charge at trial, telling a jury he did not believe he had done anything criminal because he was sending a message to parliament, and he disputed that the washable paint had actually damaged the statue.
Mr San Giorgi, 39, was found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Monday afternoon, a court official said.
The court previously heard that Mr San Giorgi went to Parliament Square just before 4am on February 27, carrying cans of spray paint and a ladder to climb the plinth.
He removed his coat to reveal a red boiler suit with the words “I support Palestine Action” on the back, and “set about defacing the statue – spraying… the words Free Palestine and red triangles on the front, and Never Again Is Now on the rear,” said prosecutor Peter Ratliff.
San Giorgi said one of the phrases he wrote translated as “The Hague sends their regards”, and was intended as a message to Starmer and parliament about Britain’s actions towards Gaza and Palestine.
“I’m proud to be a citizen of The Hague”, he said, while defending himself during the trial.
“If I had a larger canvass and more time, I would have written if Keir Starmer doesn’t come to The Hague, The Hague will come for him.
“My wish is to see him on trial in The Hague.”
He also told the jury: “Whether you convict me or not is not too much of a concern for me.
“Whether I get acquitted, deported, imprisoned for years, I can be proud of having spoken about injustice and I have accounted for my actions.
“I will accept your judgement.”
San Giorgi was seen painting the statue by a heritage warden for the Greater London Authority (GLA), who alerted police.
San Giorgi said he believed that since the paint could be washed off the statue, he did no damage and his actions could not be criminal as he was “preventing a crime” with his protest.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, a representative of 10 Downing Street called the defacing of the statue “completely abhorrent”, adding: “Churchill was a great Briton. This government will always stand up for our values, and the perpetrator must be held to account.”
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.