Deported whaling protester back in New Zealand
Updated
Mr Bethune has been reunited with family behind closed doors at Auckland Airport's police station. (AFP)
The anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune has been greeted by his family and supporters as he arrived back in New Zealand a free man after being deported from Japan.
Mr Bethune, 45, has been reunited with family behind closed doors at Auckland Airport's police station.
Gaunt and wearing a sleeveless top to show his tattooed arms, Peter Bethune cried as he described being reunited with his wife and two daughters at Auckland airport.
He spent the past five months in jail in Japan after illegally boarding a Japanese whaling boat armed with a knife.
Mr Bethune faced 15 years in jail, but received a suspended sentence and was deported from Tokyo.
Mr Bethune was convicted at Tokyo District Court on Wednesday on a number of charges including injuring a whaler by hurling a rancid butter stink bomb during the latest campaign by the US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
His sentence was suspended for five years because the judge said Mr Bethune had no criminal record in Japan, had apologised and paid for damage he caused, and because he had said he would join no more Antarctic missions.
He says he remains committed to the cause of anti-whaling and he hoped his case had raised awareness around the world.
Mr Bethine says he did the right thing boarding a Japanese whaling boat, which had earlier collided with his boat, causing it to sink.
"I did have a knife. I did board the boat. I did damage a net and I did disrupt their business. That was my job down there," he said.
Mr Bethune was careful when asked whether he would protest against whaling in the southern Ocean again, saying he had given a commitment during his trial that he would not.
Sea Shepherd has hailed him as a hero and "an inspiration in courage and dedication" for helping save hundreds of the ocean giants.
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