Mwazulu Diyabanza. Image courtesy Mwazulu Diyabanza via Facebook.
The Congolese restitution activist Mwazulu Diyabanza has been sentenced to a fine and a deferred prison term in Paris for removing an object from a display case at the Louvre in what he called a political action to cast light on restitution issues.
Diyabanza tells Artnet News he must pay the Louvre €5,000 for having “tarnished its image because my action had an international and world-media echo.” He says he will appeal the verdict.
Diyabanza has undertaken similar actions at museums across Europe, targeting ethnographic collections taken from former colonies. His acts, he says, cannot be considered theft because the objects are already stolen property.