Because they landed with a paraglider on the roof of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt and unrolled a "Greenpeace" banner there, two men were fined by the Frankfurt District Court.
The two 36 and 39-year-old men were sentenced on Tuesday to fines of 1,200 and 1,800 euros (each 30 daily rates) for trespassing.
"Noble Goals"
The "Greenpeace" activists had landed in March last year with the motorized paraglider accompanied by several photo drones on the ten meter high roof and had blocked a roof hatch.
After the banner was unfurled, they complied without resistance at the request of the security personnel, left the roof and gave their personal details.
While the defense attorney spoke of a "justifiable state of emergency" in view of climate change, the court and the public prosecutor's office also acknowledged the "noble goals" of the two confessed and unconvicted defendants.
Nevertheless, they had violated the law with their action and therefore had to be punished with a sanction "at the bottom".
The public prosecutor's office had previously opposed a trial termination proposed by the defense against payment of a fee.
After a similar action on the roof of a Berlin ministry, such a procedure had already been carried out without the older defendant having taken this as a warning, it said.
The verdict is not yet legally binding.