Australian Activists Protest T2 Verdict

Greenpeace activists hold a banner on the Sydney Harbour foreshore in support of the Tokyo Two. The banner in Japanese translates as 'We want a fair verdict! Whaling is the one that should be on trial.' They are protesting 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.