On 18 February, US peace activists Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli were each sentenced to five years and two months in prison, followed by three years’ ‘supervised release’. Sister Megan Rice, a nun and the oldest of the three at 84, was sentenced to two years and 11 months (plus three years’ probation) for her part in their action at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the US’s primary storehouse for weapons-grade uranium.
During the July 2012 action ‘Transform Now Plowshares’ action, the three cut through three fences before reaching the highly-enriched uranium materials facility where they hung banners, splashed blood and painted slogans on the walls.
The three were found guilty of ‘depredation of property and sabotage’ in May 2013: charges carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years. At the hearing, the three called attention to the ongoing violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty at Oak Ridge.
Waihopai good news
On 5 February, the New Zealand government dropped its NZ$1.2m damages claim against the three Waihopai Ploughshares activists who deflated a dome at the Waihopai spy base in 2008. The three were acquitted in March 2010. (See PN 2520.)