Sea Shepherd files attempted murder complaint against Japanese

January 12, 2010

~Protestors File Attempted Murder Complaint Against Japanese~

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society today filed with New Zealand police a

complaint of attempted murder against the captain of a Japanese whaling vessel.

The high-tech speedboat Ady Gil, which had been part of efforts to harass

Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean, sunk following a collision with the

Shonan Maru 2 last Wednesday.

" The crew of the Shonan Maru 2 assaulted the crew of the Ady Gil with the use of

military grade LRAD (long range acoustic device) systems and high-pressure

hoses.

" Further to this, the deliberate ramming of the Ady Gil, we believe to be

attempted murder, " Bill Watson, head of Sea Shepherd New Zealand, told 3News.

The society has voiced concern that a New Zealand-registered vessel was sunk

without reaction from the Government.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully today said this was not accurate.

" We are doing something about it, we're investigating the incident. It's not for

ministers to go scratching around trying to investigate something of this sort.

" There's two appropriate authorities, one's Maritime New Zealand (who are

investigating) and the other is the Transport Accident Investigation

Commission. "

Sea Shepherd's Amsterdam-based Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld told NZPA she had filed

papers with Dutch authorities on Friday asking them to investigate possible

piracy charges against the whalers, but had not yet received a response.

Ady Gil skipper Pete Bethune today brought further accusations against the

whalers, claiming they dumped fuel into the sea to make it look like

contamination from the damaged vessel.

He said the Ady Gil held only 200 litres of fuel when it was rammed and crew

members risked their lives to go back on board the badly damaged boat and remove

all contaminants before it sank.

" We had cleaned every drop of oil out of that vessel before it was cast adrift

when it was sinking. "

-30-

The concept of 'animal rights' values the simple premise that ALL living

creatures have a " right " to be allowed to live their lives without

victimization--free from brutality. It is a right that EVERY being strives for.

~Brennan Browne~

Animal Rights--Rational, not Radical.

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