Aomori, Japan, January 15, 2010 - The prospect of putting the Japanese whaling programme on trial and defending the principle of peaceful civil disobedience moved a step closer today. Following repeated denials of key defence evidence, the legal team for the Tokyo Two were today surprised and pleased to win the inclusion of all key witnesses.

Included in the defence witness list are three crewmembers from the whaling fleet and one of the whistleblowers who asked Greenpeace to investigate corruption within the whaling programme after witnessing embezzlement first hand on the whaling ships.

The final witness will be the University of Gent's Prof. Dirk Voorhoof, an expert on freedom of expression and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

While the court did reject key expert evidence from Prof. Donald Rothwell, which discusses the legality of the Japanese whaling programme, its acceptance of these witnesses is an important win for the Tokyo Two defence team.

"The fact that Prof. Voorhoof, a foreign academic, has been accepted is very significant,"said lead defence counsel Yuichi Kaido. "One full day of evidence has been allocated for him to present the international human rights law argument, and how Sato and Suzuki are protected by the ICCPR."

"It has taken a long time, but the court appears to finally understand the significance of this case,"concluded Kaido.

Greenpeace is calling for a fair trial for the Tokyo Two, for the investigation into the whale meat embezzlement scandal to be reopened, and for an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Greenpeace is an independent, global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment, and to promote peace.

Contacts:

Greg McNevin - Greenpeace International Communications,
Kyoko Murakami - Greenpeace Japan Communications

Notes:

In April 2008, Greenpeace began an investigation into whistleblower allegations that organised whale meat embezzlement was being conducted by crew inside Japan's so-called 'scientific' whaling programme, which is funded by Japanese taxpayers. The informer was previously involved in the whaling programme, and following his advice Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki began an investigation, eventually discovering firm evidence that cardboard boxes containing whale meat were being secretly shipped to the homes of whaling fleet crew - and then sold for personal profit. Junichi delivered a box of this whale meat to the Tokyo Prosecutors' Office in May 2008, and filed a report of embezzlement. However, the embezzlement investigation was dropped on 20 June - the same day that both men were arrested and then held for 26 days before being charged with theft and trespass. They are currently facing ten years in prison for their actions.

More:
Greenpeace investigation: Japan's stolen whale meat scandal:
Whale Meat Scandal Part Two: The Cover Up:

Prof. dr. Dirk Voorhoof: (PDF File 173KB)

Prof. Donald Rothwell: (PDF File 62KB)