{"id":408678,"date":"2025-09-08T20:53:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T20:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/408678\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T20:53:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T20:53:12","slug":"new-banksy-mural-of-a-judge-beating-a-protester-to-be-removed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/408678\/","title":{"rendered":"New Banksy mural of a judge beating a protester to be removed"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON (AP) \u2014 A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy<\/a> showing a judge beating an unarmed protester with a gavel will be removed from a wall outside one of London\u2019s most iconic courts, authorities said Monday.<\/p>\n

The mural appeared Monday and depicts a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-splattered placard while a judge in a traditional wig and black gown beats him with a gavel. Banksy posted a photo of the work on Instagram, his usual method of claiming a work as authentic. It was captioned \u201cRoyal Courts Of Justice. London.\u201d<\/p>\n

Security officials outside the courthouse covered the artwork Monday with sheets of black plastic and two metal barriers, and it was being guarded by two officers and a security camera.<\/p>\n

Because the Victorian gothic revival style building is 143 years old, the mural will be removed with consideration for its historical significance, according to HM Courts and Tribunals. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Royal Courts of Justice is a listed building and HMCTS are obliged to maintain its original character,\u201d it said in a statement. Listed buildings are considered the country\u2019s most significant historic buildings and sites and are protected by law.<\/p>\n

While the artwork doesn\u2019t refer to a particular cause or incident, activists saw it as a reference to the U.K. government\u2019s ban on the group Palestine Action<\/a>. On Saturday almost 900 people were arrested<\/a> at a London protest challenging the ban.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Undated<\/p>\n

Undated photo released by Banksy of the new artwork by the artist which portrays a judge beating a protester with a gavel at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. (Banksy via AP)<\/p>\n

Undated photo released by Banksy of the new artwork by the artist which portrays a judge beating a protester with a gavel at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. (Banksy via AP)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Defend Our Juries, the group that organized the protest, said in a statement that the mural \u201cpowerfully depicts the brutality unleashed\u201d by the government ban.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent, it strengthens it,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>\n

The courts have weighed in on the Palestine Action case, with judges initially rejecting the organization\u2019s request to appeal its ban. A High Court court judge then allowed the appeal to go forward, though the government is now challenging that decision.<\/p>\n

Banksy began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world\u2019s best-known artists. His paintings and installations sell for millions of dollars at auction<\/a> and have drawn thieves<\/a> and vandals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Banksy\u2019s work often comments on political issues, with many of his pieces criticizing government policy on migration and war.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Security<\/p>\n

Security officials stand in front of large sheets of black plastic and two metal barriers which conceal street artist Banksy\u2019s latest artwork, a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-splattered placard while a judge in a traditional wig and black gown beats him with a gavel, outside at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo\/Joanna Chan)<\/p>\n

Security officials stand in front of large sheets of black plastic and two metal barriers which conceal street artist Banksy\u2019s latest artwork, a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-splattered placard while a judge in a traditional wig and black gown beats him with a gavel, outside at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo\/Joanna Chan)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

At the Glastonbury Festival last year, an inflatable raft holding dummies of migrants in life jackets was unveiled during a band\u2019s headline set. Banksy appeared to claim the stunt, which was thought to symbolize small boat crossings of migrants in the English Channel, in a post on Instagram.<\/p>\n

The artist has also taken his message on migration to Europe.<\/p>\n

In 2019, \u201cThe Migrant Child,\u201d<\/a> depicting a shipwrecked child holding a pink smoke bomb and wearing a life jacket, was unveiled in Venice, Italy. In 2018, a number of works including one near a former center for migrants that depicted a child spray-painting wallpaper over a swastika were discovered in Paris.<\/p>\n

Banksy has also created numerous artworks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the years, including one depicting a girl conducting a body search on an Israeli soldier, another showing a dove wearing a flak jacket, and a masked protester hurling a bouquet of flowers. He designed the \u201cWalled Off Hotel\u201d guesthouse<\/a> in Bethlehem, which closed in October 2023.<\/p>\n

Last summer, Banksy captured London\u2019s attention with an animal-themed collection,<\/a> which concluded with a mural of a gorilla appearing to hold up the entrance gate to London Zoo.<\/p>\n

For nine days straight, Banksy-created creatures \u2014 from a mountain goat perched on a building buttress to piranhas circling a police guard post to a rhinoceros mounting a car \u2014 showed up in unlikely locations around the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON (AP) \u2014 A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy showing a judge beating an unarmed protester…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[15791,748,30,393,77,4179,5212,4884,40,388,257,13216,16,15,11654,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-408678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-banksy","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-courts","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-government-policy","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-immigration","17":"tag-lifestyle","18":"tag-london","19":"tag-protests-and-demonstrations","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-united-kingdom-government","23":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115170666696745459","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}