MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th June, 2020) Two women, aged 27 and 28, were arrested after a statue of famous British explorer, Captain James Cook, in Sydney's Hyde Park was defaced, the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force said in a statement on Sunday.
"Two women have been charged after a statue was allegedly defaced in Sydney's CBD [central business district] early this morning. Police were alerted to graffiti on the statue in Hyde Park just after 4am (Sunday 14 June 2020)," NSW police said.
The women were found with a bag containing spray cans. They were both charged with destruction and damage of property and possession of graffiti with intent to contravene.
On Friday, the statue of Captain James Stirling in Perth, Western Australia, was also defaced.
Black Lives Matter protesters have been damaging historical monuments in the United States and in various cities across the globe. Protesters have been clashing with police and there have been numerous reports of looting and vandalism.
On Saturday, demonstrators in New Orleans took down a bust of John McDonogh, a slave-owner and philanthropist who sought to educate black children.
Mass protests against police brutality and racial discrimination have been ongoing in the US since the death of George Floyd, an African-American man, in police custody in the US state of Minnesota on May 25. Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis white police officer, pinned him to the ground with his knee for over eight minutes. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree and third-degree murder and manslaughter.
