US court threatens to jail 'Star Wars' journalists

Nine of the 17 Greenpeace activists arrested last summer for disrupting a test of the "Star Wars" missile defence system in California walked free from a Los Angeles federal courtroom on one year's probation. But the rest of the group – including two journalists – were told they would have to wait until April for sentencing and could face time in jail.

Many of the defendants at the hearing expressed outrage that the two journalists, including a British photographer, Steve Morgan, should be threatened with a worse punishment for the same crime, particularly since neither has a prior criminal record. The two other Britons involved in the case, the Greenpeace activists Bill Nandris and John Wills, were let go.

"It is of great concern that jail time may be demanded for some of my fellow defendants, two of whom are freelance journalists. I would expect this kind of antic in Zimbabwe, but never in the USA," Mr Nandris said in a formal statement to the court. "Those calling for this forfeit should take a long hard look at their commitment to freedom of speech and the ideals of democracy."

When the 17 were first arrested, lawyers for the two journalists argued for leniency on the grounds that they were merely recording the protest.