27/07/2009
Journalists attacked and condemned for trying to document the slaughter of seals in Namibia.
After the arrest on 16 July, journalists Bart Smithers (South Africa) and Jim Wickens (United Kingdom), the two were sentenced to be entered in a marine protected area without the permission of the Coast Guard in Namibia . The process was' held in the coastal town of Swakopmund.
The Associated Press reported that it 'was offered a choice between Smithers and Wickens 12 months in prison and a fine of 10,000 Namibian dollars (about 1000 €) more' a sentence of six months' probation. Their employer, Ecostorm, paid the penalty for the two journalists.
The laws of Namibia prohibit the media to disclose the horrible slaughter of seals, only comparable in ferocity to the annual slaughter of seals in Canada that is, the more 'largest slaughter of marine animals on the planet. The journalists hope that their sentence will serve to bring attention to this issue, rarely addressed by the media.
Seals are slaughtered each year on the coast of Namibia as scapegoats in the practice of overfishing by man: blame the shortage 'of fish, seal, and when' known from scientific sources and that this' instead seas due to overfishing by humans. The same excuse 'used by Canada for the continuation the extermination of seals, recognized by all as cruel and unnecessary.
Journalists have not been heard by the magistrate in relation to their complaint of violent aggression by the Namibian sealers.
nations engaged in the hunting of seals have always had the habit of turning a blind eye to the violence directed at those who seek to document and make known to the public this activity '. In 2005, Sea Shepherd activists were assaulted by sealers armed with clubs as they attempted to document the slaughter of seals in international waters off the east coast of Canada. Back in 2008, Sea Shepherd activists were kept under the shot of the weapons and sent away. The officers on board Alex Cornelissen and Peter Hammarstedt were held in custody and later released on bail.
not surprising then that the Government of Namibia will take the side of hunters and ignore the blatant injustice and physical violence used to stop the truth 'which was widespread through the cameras.
Sea Shepherd welcomes the attempt to Smithers and Wickens to make public the slaughter of seals made from Namibia.
Source:
Sea Shepherd Assaulted Journalists Convicted for Documenting Seal Slaughter , July 22, 2009
drawn from Acting now http://www.agireora.org
maximum support to Smithers and Wickens!
