Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson could face up to 15 years’ prison in Japan if convicted

floofloof@lemmy.ca to World News@lemmy.world – 400 points –
Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson could face up to 15 years’ prison in Japan if convicted
theguardian.com
85

doesnt japan have a near 100% conviction rate too? they dont prosecute offences if theres a chance of not winning?

It's not 100% but it's super high and, yeah, they usually don't prosecute unless they think they have a really solid case. That said, some of that also includes confessions that some have argued are under duress (and, in the case of foreigners, people who aren't exactly sure what they're signing, though I have no idea how that's legal).

i mean "don't prosecute until they have a solid case" is one way of looking at it, the other is "the courts always side with the police"

Not sure what sort of sentence he's looking at here though.

The guy who actually boarded the ship and tried to assault the captain only got a suspended sentence. And this guy is being tried as an accomplice for that.

It doesn't sound terribly serious, tbh.

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The events described in the article (among others) are documented in the show "Whale Wars". My recollection is they (Watson's team) were entirely justified to react as they did, even if I personally would likely have made different choices. This does not mean it was legal, and I have no opinion on that.

I need to find a donation link for Watson...

Edit: Bottom right of this page, under the petition. https://www.paulwatsonfoundation.org/freepaulwatson/

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