Russian Activists Protest Tokyo Two Verdict

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GP0269T

09/06/2010

Outside the Japanese embassy in Moscow, Greenpeace activists display a banner saying "Activism is not a crime" in English and Japanese to protest the verdict against the activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki who exposed widespread corruption in the Japanese government’s Southern Ocean whaling programme. The two activists were convicted of theft and trespass after carrying out a public interest investigation into embezzlement, during which they intercepted as evidence one of numerous boxes of whale meat coming from the whaling factory ship the Nisshin Maru and destined for private use, which breaches the regulations of the taxpayer-funded programme. The case of Sato and Suzuki has generated significant international attention, from senior political figures, including Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, international human rights groups and legal experts.

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