Canada activist found guilty of harassing scientists over Fukushima fallout

[FBaggins]

A Canadian environmental activist who waged a sustained online campaign against two prominent marine scientists was found guilty of criminal harassment by a court in Victoria, British Columbia, on Thursday.

The court heard that Dana Durnford, 54, threatened violence against Jay Cullen, of the University of Victoria, and Ken Buesseler, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, and accused them of underplaying the extent of damage to Pacific ecosystems from the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

...snip...

Durnford, a former professional diver, has a large online presence. His unscripted videos, recorded in a mock television studio, present what he purports to be research that contradicts mainstream scientific findings. He alleges collusion between the global scientific establishment and the nuclear industry over the dangers presented by the nuclear industry and, in particular, the Fukushima debacle.

Durnford, of Powell River, British Columbia, did not respond to phone calls and an email for comment on Friday. In a video apparently recorded shortly before the trial began this week, he alluded to trouble meeting court-related costs. “They bankrupted us in these court proceedings in order to silence us,” he told viewers.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/09/23/national/crime-legal/canada-activist-found-guilty-harassing-scientists-fukushima-fallout/#.V_KFxfArJaR

[ColemanMaskell]

1. Sounds good. Civilized disagreements don't include threats of violence.