LionDen
02-09-2013, 03:03 AM
Lucy Lawless claims to have won a "great victory" after being handed only a modest sentence for her protest on board an oil-drilling ship.
The former Xena: Warrior Princess star appeared in court in her native New Zealand along with seven other Greenpeace activists.
They were each ordered to pay £347 in costs to a port company and complete 120 hours of community service after earlier pleading guilty to trespass.
Last February, Lawless and six other activists climbed a drilling tower on the Arctic-bound vessel Noble Discoverer in protest at oil exploration in the Arctic.
Another protester assisted the activists from the ground.
Lawless spent four days on top of the 174ft (53m) tower and blogged about her experiences. The action briefly delayed the ship's voyage.
Shell Todd Oil Services, which had chartered the ship, had sought around £347,000 in damages from the protesters.
Lawyers for the activists contended that amount was excessive.
Judge Allan Roberts declined to award the company any costs, but said it could pursue its claim through the civil court system.
Lawless said of the ruling: "I consider it a great victory that the court has struck down the reparation demand from Shell, which I think was absolutely ludicrous."
She said she was happy to clean toilets, pick up litter or do whatever else was required for her community service.
She said she had no regrets about taking part in the protest, which she believed helped highlight concerns about oil exploration in the Arctic.
Lawless, 44, is best known for her title role in Xena, which ran from 1995 until 2001, playing a warrior seeking redemption for her past sins as a ruthless warlord by using her fighting skills to help people.
More recently she played Lucretia, a major character in the Spartacus TV series.
yahoo
The former Xena: Warrior Princess star appeared in court in her native New Zealand along with seven other Greenpeace activists.
They were each ordered to pay £347 in costs to a port company and complete 120 hours of community service after earlier pleading guilty to trespass.
Last February, Lawless and six other activists climbed a drilling tower on the Arctic-bound vessel Noble Discoverer in protest at oil exploration in the Arctic.
Another protester assisted the activists from the ground.
Lawless spent four days on top of the 174ft (53m) tower and blogged about her experiences. The action briefly delayed the ship's voyage.
Shell Todd Oil Services, which had chartered the ship, had sought around £347,000 in damages from the protesters.
Lawyers for the activists contended that amount was excessive.
Judge Allan Roberts declined to award the company any costs, but said it could pursue its claim through the civil court system.
Lawless said of the ruling: "I consider it a great victory that the court has struck down the reparation demand from Shell, which I think was absolutely ludicrous."
She said she was happy to clean toilets, pick up litter or do whatever else was required for her community service.
She said she had no regrets about taking part in the protest, which she believed helped highlight concerns about oil exploration in the Arctic.
Lawless, 44, is best known for her title role in Xena, which ran from 1995 until 2001, playing a warrior seeking redemption for her past sins as a ruthless warlord by using her fighting skills to help people.
More recently she played Lucretia, a major character in the Spartacus TV series.
yahoo