Accused of boarding a Japanese whaling vessel, he pleaded guilty to four charges, including trespass and obstructing commercial activities, but denied a fifth charge of assault.
If convicted he could receive a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
From the Beeb:
If my ship had been sliced in half (dramatic video of the ramming here) by a whaler on an illegal commercial mission, I'd be pretty pissed off too. An arrest and a bill sound pretty reasonable. I have no idea why this incident couldn't have been brought to court under international law, or why the Kiwis aren't significantly angrier.
The New Zealander was the captain of the Ady Gil, a futuristic kevlar boat which was sliced in two in a collision with a harpoon ship in January and sank.
The following month he boarded the ship, the Shonan Maru 2, from a jetski.
Sea Shepherd said his intention was to perform a citizen's arrest on her captain for the attempted murder of his crew, and present a bill for the lost boat.
But instead he was detained himself and the Shonan Maru 2 set sail for Tokyo where Mr Bethune was arrested by Japan's Coast Guard.
Commercial whaling has been banned worldwide since 1986.
Japan justifies its hunt as scientific research, while not hiding the fact that whale meat ends up in restaurants and shops.
Also, since when is throwing stink bombs considered assault?
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