Captured: Giles Lane, left, appears to cry out while his Australian companion (right) looks on
Posted on 01/15/2008 7:43:41 PM PST by Stoat
This is the moment a British anti-whaling activist was taken captive on a Japanese harpoon ship.
Giles Lane appears to be crying out in pain as the sailors surround him and bind him.
In the dramatic pictures his companion, an Australian, is wrapped around with rope and seems powerless to help.
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Captured: Giles Lane, left, appears to cry out while his Australian companion (right) looks on
Colleagues of the pair in the Sea Shepherd marine protection organisation claim they were later tied to the radar mast in the freezing cold as the vessel sped from the area in the Antarctic.
"They have assaulted and kidnapped two of my crew," said Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin.
The Japanese Whaling Association last night denied the men had been tied to the mast, but admitted they were being held on board the Yushin Maru.
A spokesman claimed that Mr Lane, 36, from Cuckfield, in West Sussex, and Australian Benjamin Potts had boarded the ship illegally and intended to entangle the vessel's propellers with rope and throw bottles of acid on the decks.
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Sea spray: The Yushin Maru crew turn a high pressure hose on the men as they approach
The sensational confrontation came hours after an Australian court banned Japan from whaling in its Antarctic waters.
The ruling applies to a sanctuary declared by Australia in 2000 - which Japan does not recognise.
Some of its ships are already in the area for a planned cull of 1,000 fin and minke whales for "scientific research".
When crew members on board the Steve Irwin learned of the judgment they clapped and cheered, then tried to send a radio message to a fleet they had been shadowing for three days.
The Japanese failed to respond, so Captain Watson decided to send Mr Lane and Mr Potts to one of the ships, the Yushin Maru, to deliver a letter outlining the judgment and demanding that the whaling stop immediately.
First the sailors turned high-pressure hoses on them. And Captain Watson said that as soon as the two men boarded the ship by clambering up a ladder the Japanese set upon them.
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Illegal: Japanese whalers have been banned from hunting in Australian waters by a court judgment
"First of all they tried to throw Benjamin Potts overboard, but he managed to get his way out of that," he said.
"Then they assaulted Giles Lane. He seems to be in some pain.
"They tied him up with an incredible number of ropes. It looks like some kind of bondage movie. It's ridiculous."
There are concerns now for the safety of the two men in the freezing conditions.
In Tokyo last night, Makoto Ito, spokesman for the Japanese Whaling Association denied they had been tied to a mast.
"It is illegal to board another country's vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future," he said.
"This is just propaganda by Sea Shepherd," he added. "I believe the two men are on the boat but we cannot give further details at this time.
"Sea Shepherd has been harassing our research vessels, but no one is bound to the mast of the Yushin Maru."
There are also concerns that more serious confrontations will occur in coming days when an Australian government vessel arrives in the area.
The converted cruise liner has a number of weapons on board - and environmentalists believe it will try to drive the Japanese out.
Probably trying to impress some chick with spectacular cleavage.
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NBC was never the same since ‘Russell’ went green(peace) matey
It's delightful, isn't it? :-)
A reminder of how utterly gutless and limp-wristed the eco-terrorist hippies are.
They are all for loud talk and holier-than-thou chest-beating when they are in a group, but catch one alone and it's just another pathetic, effeminate hippie.
I’m with you.
Maybe he was more intelligent than the two idiots he restrained.
And you don’t enforce the laws with ropes and acid either.
Agreed.....except, of course, if you're a vigilante terrorist.
The Taliban uses a lot of ropes and acid, don't they?
Take notice to the red symbol on the black helmet on the guy who is tied up on the right. That's the Rebel Alliance Symbol from Star Wars. Why aren't these nerds indoors playing online FPS's or RTS's?? Why are they trying to sink commercial fishing boats?
What's wrong with Nerds today?
LMAO!
Not any chicks that I know....they tend to like men who look and act like men.
For hippies, however, that's another story.....
Gambate Okudesai!
Bakayaro Itai desu!
Sagoy!
Banzai Pingu!
Should I be searching for a Japanese translation dictionary or a South Park transcript? :-)
(((snicker)))
And why do you suppose that is?
SSCS’s mission is to stop fishing...
Its preferred methods?
Ramming and sinking fishing ships, throwing butyric acid on their decks, and firing machine guns. Watson argues that United Nations resolutions authorize him to commit violent acts.
But he regularly interferes with fisherman and hunters who are committing no crime.
He serves as judge, jury, and executioner — while enjoying the same tax-exempt status as universities and churches.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1556438/posts
Ah- honorable protestor learns valuable lesson!
Don’t start none, won’t be none!
Rope binding of prisoners is a part of Bujitsu, in Japan. Many Japanese study it as a part of police or military work. There are different systems of binding, as well as knots that stay secure.Some knots and systems of binding are designed to self tighten the more a prisoner struggles. Its called "Shibari" and is part of what is called"Hojo-jitsu." Whats funny is that the speaker is trying to portray the Japanese sailors as flunkies when at least one of them really knew Hojo-jitsu.
Knowing very little of Japanese culture I was unaware of this, and it's quite fascinating, thank you. :-)
I am glad these greenie weenies have been given as good as they hand out.
Agreed, although I would only wish to politely suggest that the eco-nazis got off awfully easy this time.
I would have had absolutely zero qualms with blowing them out of the water as the terrorists they are
LMAO!
Well-stated and agreed on all counts :-)
Hopefully they will meet their "mommies" in a particularly brutal Japanese prison, if you get my drift.
isaac's margarita's would knock anyone out!
Maybe he was more intelligent than the two idiots he restrained.
I would suggest that this is true by any measure, and I have no doubt that a full maritime inquest will determine whether he acted appropriately.
It's a bogus law. It's like the United States declaring that the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Florida is US waters. I don't think anybody recognizes it. Fact is it appears the Japanese were in international waters and could damn well do what they please. To include taking a couple of pirates into custody.
More reasons to be thankful for the tremendous selection of available news sources.
The whole reason why talk radio and alternative media came into being was because the MSM was only telling a very small part, and a very left-wing part, of the story. Now people have a buffet of information, from which they can graze from and hopefully divine the truth.
And, hopefully there will be followup articles on this that include testimony from the maritime inquest into this matter, which will undoubtedly add additional details that are missing from these initial reports.
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