Two environmental activists who climbed whaling ships in Iceland during a protest in 2023 are no longer facing key charges.
Prosecutors have dropped maritime safety violations against Elissa Phillips and Anahita Babaei. Anahita is the president of The Last Whaling Station. The maritime safety laws used against them don’t apply to whaling ships docked in the Reykjavík harbour.
The women made international headlines when they spent over 30 hours on top of the masts of two vessels owned by the whaling company Hvalur hf.
Their action, described as peaceful civil disobedience, delayed the whale hunt and sparked global discussion about Iceland’s continued whaling activities.
After nearly two years of legal proceedings, prosecutors have now dropped the main legal accusations tied to maritime safety laws.
“Today’s decision marks a step toward justice,” the Captain Paul Watson Foundation said, calling Babaei and Phillips “courageous women, who remind us how far some are willing to go to defend whales.”
In September 2023, the women boarded the whaling ships Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9. Their protest ended after negotiations with the police, and they were taken into custody. Hvalur hf. filed burglary charges the same day.
In April 2025, Hvalur hf. announced it would not hunt whales this summer, citing falling demand and lower prices in its main market, Japan.
