The dolphin activist and former dolphin trainer, Ric O'Barry, refuses to leave Japan even after officials ordered the American's deportation. O'Barry said he is "incarcerated on trumped up charges."
According to Japan Times, O'Barry was detained upon arrival last Monday at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. Authorities have rejected his appeal to get into the country where he once brought a film crew to cover the massacre of dolphins at Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, which resulted to an Academy award winning documentary entitled "The Cove".
Lincoln O'Barry, son, and lawyer Takashi Takano said O'Barry is being accused of lying to officials during questioning. He was also asked about his ties to the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, to which he denied association.
The International Business Times has reported that officials detained O'Barry because he entered the country with a tourist visa. Japanese authorities also rejected his appeal that allows him to enter the country.
The 76-year-old American released a statement through his son saying,
"The Japanese government is cracking down on those who oppose their war on dolphins. I'm incarcerated on trumped-up charges, just like in Taiji last August. For the past 72 hours, I have been behind bars in a detention facility, yet I have broken no laws."
According to his lawyer, the Japanese government is now expected to issue a formal warrant and physically deport O'Barry out of the country. Nevertheless, the American is in "good spirits".
Taiji gained international notoriety as a result of "The Cove", which starred O'Barry and his fellow activists and their struggle to document the killing of dolphins by local fishermen, reports The Guardian. The film, directed by Louie Psihoyos, won the Oscars for best documentary.
The drive-hunt method used to kill the dolphins, as captured in "The Cove", has been condemned by animal activists worldwide. This is where Fishermen pursue pods of dolphins and confuse dolphins' hypersensitive sonar by banging metal poles together under water.
The animals are then forced into a large cove using big nets, and taken further to a secluded inlet only to be killed with knives and spears. Only bottlenose dolphins are salvaged to be sold to theme parks.
