Free Paul Watson: Environmental Hero Detained in Greenland on Japan’s Extradition Request
On the morning of Sunday, July 21st, Captain Paul Watson, a renowned environmental activist and co-founder of Greenpeace, was arrested upon arrival in Nuuk, Greenland. Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF), was detained on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan.
Captain Watson’s arrest occurred when his ship, the M/Y John Paul DeJoria, docked in Nuuk to refuel. The ship, accompanied by 25 volunteer crew members, was en route to the North Pacific to intercept a new Japanese whaling vessel as part of CPWF’s Operation Kangei Maru.
According to a statement from the Danish federal police, the arrest was executed due to an international arrest order from Japan. The crew received no additional information about the arrest, which is believed to be linked to a former Red Notice issued for Watson’s previous anti-whaling actions in the Antarctic region.
“We were shocked by this development,” stated Locky MacLean, Ship Operations Director for CPWF. “The Red Notice had disappeared a few months ago, leading us to believe it had been erased or made confidential. We now understand Japan made it confidential to lure Paul into a false sense of security. We implore the Danish government to release Captain Watson and not entertain this politically-motivated request.”
In 2014, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Japan’s Antarctic research whaling program JARPA illegal. Despite ceasing Antarctic high-seas whaling in 2016, Japan continues to hunt whales within its territorial waters. CPWF fears that Japan plans to resume high-seas whaling in the Southern Ocean and North Pacific as early as 2025, and views the reactivation of the Red Notice against Watson as a politically motivated move coinciding with the launch of a new factory whaling ship.
The arrest involved over a dozen Danish police and SWAT team members who boarded the M/Y John Paul DeJoria as soon as it made port. Captain Watson was led away in handcuffs and taken to the local police station. The crew and Foundation have had no means of contacting him and have received no further updates. At the time of writing, Watson remains in custody, and it is uncertain whether Denmark will extradite him to Japan.
Paul Watson, a 73-year-old Canadian-American, is a prominent figure in the environmental movement. His direct action tactics, including high-seas confrontations with whaling vessels, have garnered support from celebrities and featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars.” However, his confrontations with authorities have led to multiple detentions, including an incident in Germany in 2012.
Watson’s current mission was to confront Japan’s newly-built factory whaling ship, described by the CPWF as “a murderous enemy devoid of compassion and empathy, hell-bent on destroying the most intelligent, self-aware sentient beings in the sea.”
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, now faces international scrutiny as environmentalists worldwide call for the release of Captain Paul Watson. The Danish government is urged to reject Japan’s politically motivated extradition request and free a man dedicated to protecting marine life.