Whaling Activists Stand Trial in Japan
- 14 years ago
Two anti-whaling activists appeared before a Japanese court on Monday on trespassing and theft charges, stemming from a 2008 arrest linked to whale meat.
Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, members of Greenpeace, pleaded not guilty to the charges, contending they confiscated a box of whale meat planned for future sale on the Japanese black market.
Commercial whaling was banned in Japan in 1986, but is still permitted for research purposes.
Members of the whaling fleet say the meat, valued at around $3,200, was intended as a bonus for crewmembers, not for commercial sales.
Sato and Suzuki dispute the claim, calling the case an attempt to expose corruption in the whaling industry.
[Junici Sato, Greenpeace Japan]:
"Today, I made two points clear to the judges and public audience. One is that this case is about exposing the corruption in the whaling industry. And second, this case is very important to the Japanese civil society because citizens have the right to expose corruption in the government. Here, we are on trial, however, in fact the whaling itself is on trial. When we are successful, this should lead to the end of whaling."
Before their arrests, Sato and Suzuki presented the meat to prosecutors who had agreed to purse an embezzlement case against the Japanese whaling fleet.
Instead, the two men were arrested for theft, while Suzuki said the original case was dropped.
[Toru Suzuki, Greenpeace Japan]:
"We were mistreated from the beginning. They sent 75 police officers instead of two to arrest us. The same day they arrested us, they dropped the investigation into the whale meat embezzlement. And also, we ended up with the blacked-out documents, it's never been disclosed. So, there are so much things that will be disclosed during this trial, so I hope we can expose as much as we can with this trial."
If convicted of the charges, Sato and Suzuki could spend 10 years in prison.
Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, members of Greenpeace, pleaded not guilty to the charges, contending they confiscated a box of whale meat planned for future sale on the Japanese black market.
Commercial whaling was banned in Japan in 1986, but is still permitted for research purposes.
Members of the whaling fleet say the meat, valued at around $3,200, was intended as a bonus for crewmembers, not for commercial sales.
Sato and Suzuki dispute the claim, calling the case an attempt to expose corruption in the whaling industry.
[Junici Sato, Greenpeace Japan]:
"Today, I made two points clear to the judges and public audience. One is that this case is about exposing the corruption in the whaling industry. And second, this case is very important to the Japanese civil society because citizens have the right to expose corruption in the government. Here, we are on trial, however, in fact the whaling itself is on trial. When we are successful, this should lead to the end of whaling."
Before their arrests, Sato and Suzuki presented the meat to prosecutors who had agreed to purse an embezzlement case against the Japanese whaling fleet.
Instead, the two men were arrested for theft, while Suzuki said the original case was dropped.
[Toru Suzuki, Greenpeace Japan]:
"We were mistreated from the beginning. They sent 75 police officers instead of two to arrest us. The same day they arrested us, they dropped the investigation into the whale meat embezzlement. And also, we ended up with the blacked-out documents, it's never been disclosed. So, there are so much things that will be disclosed during this trial, so I hope we can expose as much as we can with this trial."
If convicted of the charges, Sato and Suzuki could spend 10 years in prison.