The artwork, which came out on Monday, showed a gavel-wielding judge attacking a protester
Street artist Banksy made his presence in London known when he decorated a wall of the Royal Courts of Justice with a mural that depicted a judge wielding a gavel to attack a protester, reported the Associated Press.
The artwork appeared on Monday September 8, with Banksy publicizing it on Instagram in his typical manner of confirming the authenticity of one of his works. He captioned the photo “Royal Courts Of Justice. London.”
In the mural, a protester holds a bloodstained placard in his left fist. A black-robed judge in a barrister wig looms over the protester, a gavel raised in his right fist and posed in mid-strike.
For activists, the artwork is a commentary on the UK government’s decision to ban the Palestine Action group. Over the weekend, nearly 900 had been arrested in London for protesting the ban, AP News reported.
On Monday, security officials covered the mural in black plastic sheets and placed two metal barriers around the wall. The wall was manned by two officers, and a security camera was set up.
His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals said that the mural would be removed in consideration of the 143-year-old courthouse’s historical significance.
“The Royal Courts of Justice is a listed building and HMCTS are obliged to maintain its original character,” HMCTS said in a statement published by AP News.
The group Defend Our Juries described Banksy’s mural as a powerful depiction of the Palestine Action ban’s “brutality.”
“When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent, it strengthens it,” Defend Our Juries said in a statement published by AP News.
Currently, a UK High Court judge has permitted Palestine Action to appeal its ban in a ruling the government is challenging.
Last year, Banksy took credit for the appearance of an inflatable raft with dummies of migrants dressed in life jackets during a band’s headline set at Glastonbury Festival. The piece reportedly represented migrants crossing the English Channel on small boats.
