Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Greenpeace activists: 19th day of detention

From Greenpeace:

Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki are charged with stealing a box of whale meat which they presented as evidence of a whale meat smuggling operation. The activists requested a Japanese government investigation into the scandal, and the Tokyo public prosecutor agreed there was sufficient evidence of wrongdoing. His investigation has now concluded. The only persons charged are the Greenpeace activists who presented the evidence.

Our activists are innocent of any crime. They have been arrested for returning whale meat that was stolen from Japanese taxpayers, and exposing a fraud that may reach high into the Japanese government agencies that run the whaling program.

This is a message from Junichi: "Thank you everyone for your support and vigilance over the last days. Thank you to the 200,000 of you who have sent the email to the Japanese Government asking for our release and those of you who have sent it to your friends. We have heard from our lawyers about how many emails that have been sent, and it reminds us that we are not alone. Thank you also to those who mounted peaceful protests and vigils at Japanese Embassies around the world calling for justice for myself and Toru and justice for the whales. It helps us to know that so many are thinking of us and of the fate of the whales."

You can go here to send a message to the Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki, Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, asking for the activists' immediate release.

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