Japanese prosecutors yesterday demanded two years in prison for a New Zealand anti-whaling activist on trial for assault and charges relating to his boarding of a harpoon ship in Antarctic waters.
Peter Bethune, 45, of the US-based militant environmentalist group the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is accused of causing chemical burns to the face of a whaler with a rancid butter stink bomb and four other charges.
Chemical burns to the face of a 24-year-old whaler were “clearly caused by rancid butter fired by the defendant,” prosecutors said. “The impact of rancid butter and its toxic nature is clear from past studies, and our investigations found that the ship’s floor was discolored where the rancid butter hit. It’s clear that the acid was highly concentrated.”
Bethune was detained in February after he boarded the Japanese fleet’s security ship the Shonan Maru II during its annual cull of the sea mammals.
The New Zealander was captain of Sea Shepherd’s futuristic powerboat the Ady Gil which sank after a collision with the Shonan Maru II, and Bethune wanted to make a citizens’s arrest of its captain and charge him for the sunken boat.
On trial in Tokyo, Bethune has pleaded guilty to four charges including trespassing, vandalism and holding a knife, which he used to cut netting as he climbed onto the ship from a jet ski, but he has denied the assault charge.
In his tearful closing statement, Bethune apologized said he never intended to hurt anyone.
“I took action because I wanted to stop Japan’s illegal whaling,” he said. “But I feel sorry for having caused trouble to crew members.”
“I am not apologizing because I am trying to lessen the charges,”he said with his voice trembling, choked with tears. “I did not intend to injure the crew members of Shonan Maru.”
Yesterday’s session wraps up the proceedings ahead of a ruling expected on July 7.
Sea Shepard said last week that Bethune would no longer join its actions after taking a bow and arrows on the latest high-seas campaign, contrary to the group’s stance of “aggressive but non-violent direct action.”
Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson said in a statement on Wednesday that the group would continue to help cover Bethune’s legal fees for his trial in Tokyo.
Watson said the decision to expel Bethune was “taken out of necessity both for Captain Bethune and for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.”
“Sea Shepherd is focused on getting Bethune out of a Japanese prison,” Watson said.
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