Update: Captain Pete Bethune’s Trial – First Phase Complete The first phase of Captain Pete Bethune’s trial in Japan has ended and he remains both unbowed and in good spirits.
Update: Captain Pete Bethune’s Trial – First Phase Complete The first phase of Captain Pete Bethune’s trial in Japan has ended and he remains both unbowed and in good spirits. Captain Bethune is being represented by a highly capable team of Japanese lawyers.
Update: Captain Pete Bethune’s Trial – First Phase Complete The first phase of Captain Pete Bethune’s trial in Japan has ended and he remains both unbowed and in good spirits. Captain Bethune is being represented by a highly capable team of Japanese lawyers. Though some in the media have written that Captain Bethune pleaded guilty to four out of five counts against him, this is incorrect, as Captain Bethune continues to maintain his innocence on all counts. He contested some of the facts claimed by the Japanese prosecutor, including, most importantly, that anyone on the Japanese vessel the Shonan Maru 2 was ever injured by anything done by anyone on a Sea Shepherd vessel. A crewmember from the Shonan Maru 2 claimed to have been injured by rancid butter tossed onto the Shonan Maru 2 by Sea Shepherd volunteers, but the evidence revealed that no doctor ever actually saw the alleged injury and there was no dispute that this crewmember was fine before his vessel ever arrived back in port.
Update: Captain Pete Bethune’s Trial – First Phase Complete The first phase of Captain Pete Bethune’s trial in Japan has ended and he remains both unbowed and in good spirits. Captain Bethune is being represented by a highly capable team of Japanese lawyers. Though some in the media have written that Captain Bethune pleaded guilty to four out of five counts against him, this is incorrect, as Captain Bethune continues to maintain his innocence on all counts. He contested some of the facts claimed by the Japanese prosecutor, including, most importantly, that anyone on the Japanese vessel the Shonan Maru 2 was ever injured by anything done by anyone on a Sea Shepherd vessel. A crewmember from the Shonan Maru 2 claimed to have been injured by rancid butter tossed onto the Shonan Maru 2 by Sea Shepherd volunteers, but the evidence revealed that no doctor ever actually saw the alleged injury and there was no dispute that this crewmember was fine before his vessel ever arrived back in port.
Maritime Justice in the Land of Oz Response from Captain Paul Watson on the Australian Conclusion on the Destruction of the Sea Shepherd Vessel Ady Gil. We just received the report from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) entitled “Fact finding report into the reported collision involving the New Zealand registered craft Ady Gil and the Japan registered whaling ship Shonan Maru No. 2 in the Southern Ocean on January 6th, 2010.” I did predict months ago that the investigation would come to nothing because Japan would refuse to cooperate as they did in 2007 when they rammed our vessel Robert Hunter
Japan Accuses Captain Paul Watson of Obstructing Japanese Whaling Operations: “Duh, ya think?” Japan Discovers that Sea Shepherd Obstructs Illegal Whaling Operations By Captain Paul Watson Kyodo News Service http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=498414 TOKYO, April 30 KYODO The Japan Coast Guard has obtained an arrest warrant for the head of the anti-whaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for allegedly ordering members of the group to obstruct operations by Japan’s whaling fleet, investigative sources said Friday. I discovered today that the Japanese Coast Guard has issued an arrest warrant against myself for ordering my crew to obstruct Japanese whaling operations in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. It does seem amazing that it has taken five years for the Japanese Coast Guard to discover that Sea Shepherd volunteers have obstructed illegal Japanese whaling operations
Captain Bethune Now Declared a Political Prisoner News reaches us today from Japan that Captain Pete Bethune of New Zealand will face no less than five separate charges related to his boarding of the illegal whaling vessel Shonan Maru No.
Update: Captain Bethune and the Japanese Legal System Since arriving in Japan on March 12, 2010, Captain Pete Bethune has become the subject of an international media maelstrom. While some media continues to theorize and blatantly guess at the situation developing around Captain Bethune’s case in Japan, the reality is that anything Captain Bethune may have done is trivial compared to the actions demonstrated by the Shonan Maru No.
Antarctic Campaign Report – Success Defending Whales! Ships are expendable, endangered whales species are not 2009-2010 Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign: Operation Waltzing Matilda After three long weary and dramatic months upon the most remote and hostile seas in the world, the Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and Bob Barker were welcomed by crowds of cheering supporters in the port of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, on Saturday, March 6 th , 2010.
Sea Shepherd is Concerned that Captain Bethune Has Been Injured by Japanese Whalers The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is concerned that Peter Bethune may have been hurt after he entered the wheelhouse of the Japanese whaling fleet security vessel Shonan Maru #2. Glen Inwood, the spokesperson in New Zealand for the Institute of Cetacean Research has reported that Captain Bethune cut his hand while boarding the Shonan Maru #2 and was receiving medical treatment from the ship’s doctor
