Green Peace Opera House Vandals loose appeal

Workers begin to clean up a "No War" slogan painted on the Concert Hall sail of the Sydney Opera House last year
11.09am
No War protesters lose appeal
February 23, 2005
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1260&storyid=2711481
TWO peace activists who painted an anti-war slogan on the Sydney Opera House today lost their appeal on their conviction and sentence.

David Burgess, 34, and Will Saunders, 34, were sentenced to nine months periodic detention for malicious damage after they painted "No War" on the tallest sail of the Opera House on March 18, 2003, as Australia prepared to invade Iraq.

They were also ordered to pay $151,000 to the Opera House fund for its cleaning bill.
The pair appealed on the ground on self defence, claiming they were defending the lives of those who would die in Iraq.

But the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal today rejected their argument saying it would be "outrageous" to claim an attacker could justify his actions "by raising self defence against an unrelated third party".

"The common law has never countenanced such a concept, nor would I believe the community ever accept such a proposition as representing a just law," Acting Justice Peter Newman said.
AAP
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