Legal Support for Simon, who spoke out to highlight cruelty to marine life

In March 2017, my brother Simon Lomas shared a post on Facebook which highlighted the cruelty of shark finning - a practise which is now banned in more than 25 countries worldwide including NZ, Australia, UK and Europe, but continues in Thailand which is where Simon lives and works.

The video and article Simon shared originated from a page called The Earth, which has 1.5m followers.

In Jan 2018, Simon was arrested at his Dive Shop in Phuket, Thailand, and spent 5 days in jail awaiting trial - his crime was speaking out about Shark Finning, which upset a large local business group who serves shark fin soup in its restaurants and hotels.

Simon's 5 days in jail were horrific. In a room with 320 other people. Drug dealers, addicts, murderers and many very sick from the over crowding or from what they brought in with them. The was one cup for all to share. He was unable to sit down. Sleep was on tiled floor, no pillow, no blanket and so over crowded you had to sleep on your side to fit everyone in. He was finally released on bail with infections, severe dehydration, and a very large legal bill.

His court case is pending. His lawyer is trying to negotiate an out of court settlement but all his funds were used up just to get out of prison on bail. Now huge legal fees loom just to stay out.

To most of us in westernized countries, the legal system in Asia appears corrupt, unfair, and incredibly harsh.

I am proud of Simon for speaking out against shark finning, as I am proud of him for his hands on marine conservsation work and his passion for all marine life and teaching people all around the world to scuba dive.

I have set up this page to a) try and raise funds to meet his considerable legal costs and bail money, b) increase awareness of the practise of shark finning which continues in several asian countries .