Pro-Palestinian protester who defaced Amsterdam's National Monument avoids punishment

A student who defaced the National Monument on Amsterdam's Dam Square on August 16, 2025, has been convicted of damaging the monument but will not face any punishment. The court ruled that no sentence was necessary because they had already reimbursed the 895 euros spent to remove the paint.

The defendant is Costas V., a 25-year-old student from Amsterdam. The student identifies with they/them pronouns. They were 24 years old at the time of the arrest. V. spray-painted the slogan "Never Again is Now" in red on the National Monument during a pro-Palestinian protest.

Despite the conviction, V. stated to the Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool that they feel no regret over their actions. Following the verdict, V. announced on Instagram their intent to appeal the decision.

The incident took place during a massive pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel protest that drew an estimated 1,500 attendees to Dam Square. V. was caught and arrested by police immediately after spraying the text and confessed right away to carrying out the vandalism. The formal complaint was filed directly by the Municipality of Amsterdam.

In applying Article 9a of the Dutch Criminal Code, guilty without punishment, the police judge emphasized that the student had already faced sufficient real-world consequences. This included their initial arrest, a grueling three-hour police interrogation, and the immediate out-of-pocket financial restitution.

The court found that their actions went beyond peaceful demonstration, describing them as "a deliberately more serious disruption of public order."

The court’s decision went against the Public Prosecution Service (OM), as the prosecutor had explicitly demanded a financial fine. The judge specifically addressed the chosen phrase, "Never Again is Now". The text is a modern variation of "Never Again,” a powerful historical phrase born globally in the wake of the Holocaust to honor World War II victims.

V. stated during the trial that they deliberately chose the World War II monument because they associated the historical memorial with their current political stance against Israel and in support of Palestinians.

In its ruling, the judge said the monument carries deep significance for many people and that the defendant failed to show it sufficient respect by defacing it with paint. The court also noted that they could have expressed the same message in a less damaging way, such as by displaying "a banner with red lettering."

The judge said several mitigating factors influenced the decision, including that they did not intend to damage the monument, that personal trauma had contributed to their actions, and that they had already reimbursed the cost of removing the paint.

The National Monument was vandalized again two months ago, when perpetrators spray-painted the word "genocide" across it. The Amsterdam police actively sought three separate suspects for the subsequent spring attack.