Stuff reports that anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune has been given a suspended sentence on charges of trespassing and vandalism, and that he will be returning to New Zealand. That's good news. It looks like the Japanese whaling industry's attempts to politicise the justice system to victimise those who speak out against them has failed.
The Japanese will probably be hoping this will deter future protests. I doubt it. If anything, the brutality they displayed this year will have encouraged more people to oppose them, and support groups like Sea Shepherd in disrupting their organised murder of whales.
