PARIS (AP) — Is dislodging African artwork from a European museum a political statement, or a criminal act? That’s the question a French court weighed Wednesday in an emotionally charged trial centered around a Congolese activist campaigning to take back art he says was plundered by colonizers. Emery Mwazulu Diyabanza in part was inspired by global protests against racial injustice and colonial-era wrongs unleashed by George Floyd’s death in the U.S. at the knee of a white policeman. If convicted of attempted theft, Diyabanza could face up to 10 years in prison and a 150,000-euro ($173,000) fine.
