South African Activists Protest T2 Verdict

Outside the Japanese embassy in Pretoria, Greenpeace activists holds signs saying "Activism is not a crime" (in Japanese and English) to protest the verdict against the activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki (known as the "Tokyo Two") 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.