The 'Xena' star and six other Greenpeace activists are sentenced to 120 hours of community work and fined NZ$651.44 each.
- Feb 7, 2013
AceShowbiz - Lucy Lawless was sentenced Thursday, February 7, in the New Plymouth District Court for her oil-protest action in Taranaki. The "Xena: Warrior Princess" actress along with six other Greenpeace environmental activists were sentenced to 120 hours of community work and each of them was fined NZ$651, or US$547, to be paid to Port Taranaki after pleading guilty for trespassing.
However, they managed to avoid paying NZ$600,000 to Shell's Todd Oil Services in reparations for the ship which was chartered by the company. Lawless said after the decision was made, "I consider it a great victory that the court has struck down the reparation demand from Shell, which I think was absolutely ludicrous."
The New Zealand-born actress said she didn't regret taking part in the protest. "We are proud to have taken part in our attempt to stop Shell's reckless plans to drill for oil in the pristine Arctic," she told reporters outside the court. "Since we occupied the Noble Discoverer, it has become evident to everyone watching, from the millions who have signed Greenpeace petitions, to the US government... that it can never be safe to drill in the Arctic."
In late February 2012, Lawless and the other six protesters were arrested during their action boarding an oil-drilling ship, the Noble Discoverer, in New Zealand. They climbed up to the drilling tower to protest oil exploration in the Arctic. They spent four days up the 174-foot tower, camping and blogging about the event. The action briefly prevented the ship from voyaging to Arctic.
