Anti-whaling activist gets suspended sentence in Japan

Sea Shepherd captain's boat was split in two

July 2010: Anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune has been given a two year suspended for five years by a Japanese court.

DEPORTED: Sea Shepherd captain Pete Bethune. Picture: Barbara Veiga / Sea Shepherd

A member of direct action group Sea Shepherd, he faced charges of illegally boarding a whaling ship in the Antarctic. He said he wanted to detain its captain, who, he believed, was acting illegally. Bethune had admitted charges of trespassing, vandalism, possession of a knife and obstructing business. He was found guilty of assault - by throwing stink bombs made of rancid butter at the whalers.

Large numbers of police officers were on duty outside the court in Tokyo where the verdict was delivered. A small group of right-wing protesters brandished banners calling for a tough sentence.

Bethune was part of the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group, which tries each year to block Japan's annual hunt. He was the captain of the Ady Gil, a speed boat split in two during a clash with the whalers in January.

Sea Shepherd spent more than $500,000 defending Captain Bethune, in an attempt to mitigate his sentence. He had been facing up to 15 years in prison. He was sentenced to two years and he has now been deported back to New Zealand with his sentence suspended.

Exposing the brutality of the Japanese whaling fleet
A Sea Shepherd spokesman said: ‘Captain Bethune's mission was successful. His efforts helped save the lives of 528 whales. He was able to take one of the harpoon vessels off the hunt when it was forced to return him to Japan.

‘Most importantly, he exposed the brutality and illegality of the Japanese whaling fleet to the world. When you're willing to risk your life to save the whales, five months as a Japanese prisoner is a good trade-off for the lives saved.'

There has been global support for Captain Bethune and much negative publicity about Japan's whaling programme as a result. With Captain Bethune, the Japanese government was well aware that each day it held him would be a day that would generate protest against whale slaughter. The Japanese court acknowledged that Captain Bethune never intended to hurt anyone and was operating under his conviction to save whales from illegal whaling.

Japan abandoned commercial whaling in 1986 after agreeing to a global moratorium. But it says that whaling is part of its culture and catches hundreds of whales each year as part of what it calls a scientific research programme. Conservationists say the whaling is a cover for the sale and consumption of whale meat.

Last month nations failed to agree a compromise deal at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Morocco. Under the plan, Japan would phase down its annual Antarctic hunt and in return be assigned a quota for whales in its coastal waters.