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| Japan charges New Zealand whaling activist Pete Bethune |
| 2010-04-02 |
| A New Zealand anti-whaling activist who boarded a Japanese harpoon ship has been charged with five offences, including trespass and causing injury. Pete Bethune, of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, boarded the Shonan Maru 2 in February, and tried to make a citizen's arrest of its captain. The incident happened as Sea Shepherd activists attempted to disrupt Japan's annual whale hunt in Antarctic waters. If found guilty, Mr Bethune could face up to 15 years in prison. Mr Bethune had been in command of Sea Shepherd's hi-tech speedboat, the Ady Gil, when it was sliced in two in a collision with the Shonan Maru 2 in January. All six crew members escaped unharmed. On 15 February, Mr Bethune boarded the Shonan Maru, saying he wanted to arrest its captain, Hiroyuki Komiya, and present him with a bill for the damage. He was detained on the ship and taken to Japan, where he was formally arrested for trespass earlier this month. A spokeswoman at Tokyo's District Court said he had been charged with "trespassing, causing injuries, obstructing commercial activities, vandalism and carrying a weapon", reported to have been a knife. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Japan would "strictly deal with such cases under the law", the AFP news agency reported. The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo said it could be several months before Mr Bethune's case is heard in court but that he will be hoping the trial will bring Japan's whaling industry under further scrutiny. The crew of the Shonan Maru said the activists had tried to tangle a rope in their propeller and had thrown butyric acid at the ship, giving a "chemical burn" to one sailor. But Sea Shepherd has denied any of its activists caused injury and said the substance thrown was harmless, if unpleasant, rancid butter. The Ady Gil incident was one of several clashes between Japan's whaling fleet and Sea Shepherd activists in the Southern Ocean during the hunt season. The group has described Mr Bethune as a "political prisoner" and says the charges against him are bogus. "Shame on Japan for blowing Captain Bethune's case out of proportion, and shame on Japanese maritime authorities for failing to investigate the serious criminal actions of the Shonan Maru 2," it said, in a statement. It also accused New Zealand of being "surprisingly quiet" on the arrest. The charges come a day after New Zealand's representative on the International Whaling Commission said countries should be allowed to kill a limited number of whales. Sir Geoffrey Palmer said attempts to reach a global deal on whaling would fail unless nations could compromise. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #13 Mr Bethune strongly denies injuring anyone in the incident. Lucky for Mr. Bethune. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-04-02 23:08 |
| #12 What? No charges for scratching the paint on the Shonan Maru's bow? |
| Posted by: ed 2010-04-02 19:49 |
| #11 He has cabbage soup and rice three times a week hope he's in a poorly ventilated cell |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-04-02 19:25 |
| #10 Japanese 'throw book' at anti-whaling Bethune The Japanese have charged New Zealander Pete Bethune with a total of five offences including possessing a weapon and assault. Bethune's wife says he plans to fight the assault charge. Sea Shepherd are calling the charges bogus, but he could face a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Pete Bethune wasn't surprised by the trespass charge. He could hardly deny boarding the Shonan Maru 2, the vessel which then carried him to a Tokyo jail. But his wife Sharyn says today's four new charges have made him nervous. “He said he never thought he would get in this trouble,” says Mrs Bethune. “He thought they would just slap him on the hand and send him back. But they've decided this time to make an example of him.” Mr Bethune has been charged with: * Trespass * Possession of a weapon * Damage to property * Obstructing the passage of a vessel * Injury to persons Mr Bethune strongly denies injuring anyone in the incident. Sea Shepherd say the Japanese have decided to "throw the book at him" and call the charges “bogus”. “The majority of them are ludicrous and trumped up and we feel that it's shameful that the Japanese are going about it this way,” says NZ Sea Shepherd director Bill Watson. Mr Bethune could face a 15 year prison sentence or a $6000 fine, and the Japanese have a very high conviction rate - “98 or 99.8 (percent) depending on who you hear it from,” says Mrs Bethune. Mr Bethune has admitted some of the lesser charges and will be sentenced next month. His wife says the best outcome would be for him to be deported. “It doesn't sound pleasant,” says Mrs Bethune of Pete’s current living conditions. “He has two showers a week, followed by a hot bath, that's his highlight. He has cabbage soup and rice three times a week.” Australian Green Party Senator Bob Brown says it's horrendous a New Zealand anti-whaling activist is facing the prospect of a lengthy jail term in Japan. He says it's time Canberra and Wellington took up that matter with the Japanese government to prosecute the Shonan Maru's captain and crew. |
| Posted by: john frum 2010-04-02 16:35 |
| #9 "They need to charge him with interfering with the safe navigation of a ship at sea." They need to charge him with piracy. "Sea Shepherd . . . said the substance thrown was harmless, if unpleasant, rancid butter." That lie is easy to dispute - see if any of them are willing to have the substance Bethune was carrying thrown on their skin. In public. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-04-02 12:53 |
| #8 When Bethune was detained by the Japanese captain, he claimed he threw the knife used to cut the netting into the sea. When the ship docked in Japan and he was arrested by the Coast Guard, they found the knife, hidden in his boot. The length of the knife is a problem (violation of Japan's old "sword law") as is the concealment. Prior to the collision, Bethune's boat was filmed, trailing a prop fouler, attempting to snag the Japanese ship's propeller. He also used a laser, aiming at the bridge, to dazzle the crew. He was also filmed firing glass bottles of acid from a compressed air launcher. They need to charge him with interfering with the safe navigation of a ship at sea. |
| Posted by: john frum 2010-04-02 12:38 |
| #7 Heh... Show Your Support for Captain Pete Bethune, Send an E-mail! Here's the only one they got... MrsMiaGaribaldi says: Apr 2nd, 2010 at 10:19 Whilst I am against the killing of any animal not only whales, I wont be sending any support email for Behune who borded the ship for publicity and publicity only. Do any of you realise that Bethune did NOT own the Ady Gil ? the boat was leased by the Sea Shepherd for $10,000. The owner of the boat was Ady Gil. He bought it and the SS leased it. I have first hand knowledge of this and it will be exposed when the time is right. Bethune and his head honcho devised this laterst act of madness – to board the Japanese ship in rough seas in the dark and eary hours, , it was planned for weeks and contrived. The whole fiasco is for more more more publicity. He knew what he was doing and he asked to be arrested. An AP person was going tofilm this and was on board the jet ski. . unfortunatelty for him and AP /Whale Wars ther rough icy ocean prevented him from filming. The plan then was to =film the ‘arrest’ by helicoptor. What an anti climax. He sat on the deck until daybreak, walked inside there you have it folks. For anyone who doesnt know what n-Butyric acid does , this report from the university of Iowa. You people are blinded by the hype the SS uses to gather those who cant diferentiate between truth and fiction,Its called manipulation and many buy this load of rubbish. Bethune was not the owner of the silly little boat which should not have been in Antarctic conditions, it was leased for $10,000 by captain blood and eveything this mob do is for publicity and YOUR money. There will be more on this as once again the SS honcho is lying. I hope Bethune is convicted for his act of piracy and charged accordingly. This time the publicity stunt might backfire. I hope you will publish this instead of the usual propaganda. Thank you. ACC# 03680 Potential Health Effects Eye: Causes eye burns. Skin: Harmful if absorbed through the skin. Causes skin burns. Ingestion: May cause severe and permanent damage to the digestive tract. Causes gastrointestinal tract burns. May be harmful if swallowed. Inhalation: May cause severe irritation of the upper respiratory tract with pain, burns, and inflammation. Causes chemical burns to the respiratory tract. Claims that this ’stinky butter’ doesnt hurt or harm is a fallacy. Bethune desrves all that is coming to him. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-04-02 12:34 |
| #6 While rancid butter contains traces of Butyric acid, what the Sea Shepherds use is actual Butyric acid, an industrial chemical. The CEO of the SSCS was asked about the Butyric acid. He admitted that it is bottled, undiluted, from barrels shipped by the chemical supplier, Read the MSDS for Butyric acid Bethune was filmed launching glass bottles of Butyric acid at the Japanese ships. |
| Posted by: john frum 2010-04-02 12:26 |
| #5 If they did throw rancid butter on the ship, they did throw butyric acid on it. That's what makes it rancid. The smell of it could trigger puking, too. It's not nearly as cute & harmless as they are trying to make it seem. Next time, just toss his happy ass overboard without a lifejacket. |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2010-04-02 11:41 |
| #4 If rancid butter was thrown, they can charge biowarfare charges against them as well. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2010-04-02 10:17 |
| #3 Poor Pete. He probably thought he'd do his little attention whore song and dance, the media would jump to his side, and the Japanese would roll over with profuse apologies and he'd be the new Big Green Hero. Well, Pete, every cause needs martyrs. And it looks like you're it... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-04-02 10:06 |
| #2 Throw assault and battery on there too for attacking the crew of the ship. Lock him up and throw away the key. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2010-04-02 09:58 |
| #1 With impersonating a human? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-04-02 09:07 |