Watson isn`t facing the courts. He is quite unconcerned about how his words & actions are digging a deeper hole for Bethune to crawl out of. The Japanese courts are really going to want a pound of flesh from somebody after Watsons words. Seems Watson could care less how his words will affect Bethune's chances at an esarly release or court compassion. Watson could care less that he most likely added jail time to Bethune`s case.




SS captain pleads guilty in Japan (Japan Today)‏

Sent: May 28, 2010 9:46:20 PM

Japan Today
Sea Shepherd activist pleads guilty to 4 of 5 charges
Thursday 27th May, 12:18 PM JST
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/sea-shepherd-activists-trial-begins-in-tokyo

TOKYO —An antiwhaling activist from New Zealand who allegedly
obstructed the activities of the Japanese whaling fleet in the
Antarctic Ocean pleaded guilty to four of the five charges against him
on Thursday as his trial began at the Tokyo District Court.

The trial of Pete Bethune, 45, former captain of the antiwhaling
vessel Ady Gil of the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is
being closely watched as the first case to come before a Japanese
court that involves a member of the group known for an often-violent
campaign to disrupt whaling that Japan justifies as scientific
research.

Bethune was handcuffed and had a rope tied around his waist as he was
ushered into the courtroom, which guards removed as he sat in front of
the panel of judges. He grinned when prosecutors showed a photo on a
wall-mounted monitor showing him on a protest boat, identifying him
with “a trademark skinhead.”

Outside the court, a group of about 30 ultra rightwing activists
staged a protest, holding banners and calling the anti-whaling
activists in derogatory terms.

During the first court hearing of his trial, Bethune said through an
interpreter that he accepted four of five charges against him, but not
the fifth charge of injuring a crew member of the Japanese fleet’s
security escort vessel, the Shonan Maru No. 2.

The four charges he admitted are trespassing, forcible obstruction of
business, destruction of property and violation of the weapons control
law.

Bethune, who wore a black suit and sported a shaven head, said he had
good reasons for trespassing. Regarding the alleged obstruction of
business, he said there were additional circumstances that he will
discuss at a future hearing.

Asked by a lead judge to describe his profession, he said, ‘‘Captain.’‘

Prosecutors argued in their opening remarks that Bethune trespassed
aboard the vessel to have a cameraman film him for a documentary. They
played to the court a video recorded by the Japanese fleet that shows
the defendant throwing a glass bottle and roaring with delight.

Noting that there is powerful opposition within the international
community to the Japanese whaling program, the defense countered in
its remarks that Bethune did not intend to harm the crew member and
that he was not aware of the dangers posed by the liquid contained in
the glass bottle.

The defense also said there is room for questioning the causal
relationship between his alleged act and the injury purported to have
been caused by it.

He was indicted last month for firing a glass bottle containing
butyric acid onto the Shonan Maru No. 2 on Feb 11, causing injuries to
a 24-year-old male crew when the bottle shattered and some of the
contents splashed him in the face.

The crew member suffered burns that required a week of medical
treatment, according to the indictment.

The New Zealander is also charged with illegally boarding the same
ship four days later with a knife that he used to cut a net placed
around its deck to fend off intruders. The net was worth 130,000 yen,
the indictment says.

The second and third hearings are set for Friday and Monday,
respectively, with all the hearings expected to be concluded soon,
possibly next month. Bethune is expected to answer questions from the
prosecution, defense and judges on Monday.

Early Thursday, Sea Shepherd’s founder and president, Paul Watson,
told Kyodo News from Brisbane, Australia, that Japan was trying to
make an example of the New Zealander.

Bethune ‘‘is being used as a political football by the right-wing
nationalists in Japan who are trying to make this into an
anti-Japanese thing, which it’s not,’’ Watson said.

According to Watson, for whom the Japan Coast Guard has obtained an
arrest warrant for allegedly ordering group members to obstruct
operations of the Japanese whaling fleet, Japan’s nearly 100-percent
conviction rate does not appear to be a ‘‘fair system.’‘

The antiwhaling group plans to head back to the Antarctic Ocean again
this year, with Watson adding that he has a dozen more people willing
to board Japanese vessels this season.

Meanwhile, in an interview with 3News New Zealand television late
Wednesday, Bethune’s wife Sharyn said her husband had to be ‘‘humble’’
during the trial.

‘‘Pete’s got to be humble, he’s got to be apologetic. Pete will find
that hard if he believes that he’s in the right,’’ she said.

Sharyn said her husband would read a speech in Japanese in an effort
to avoid being given a lengthy sentence.