Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson ambushed and arrested in Greenland

Greenland police said they arrested Paul Watson due to a Japanese arrest warrant. The arrest is connected to a previous Red Notice issued for Watson’s anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic. He will be brought before a district court with a request to detain him while a decision is made on his possible extradition to Japan.

HELEN REGAN: Veteran environmentalist Paul Watson was arrested in Greenland on Sunday and faces possible extradition to Japan allegedly over anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic years ago, his organization said in a statement.

The 73-year-old Canadian-American dual national was detained by police when his ship docked in the Greenland capital Nuuk to refuel, according to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF) and Greenland police.

The ship John Paul DeJoria and a 25-member crew were en route from Dublin, Ireland to the North Pacific to intercept Japan’s newly launched $48 million factory whaling ship the Kangei Maru, CPWF said.

“We were immediately boarded by a SWAT team and … police who wasted no time in cuffing Paul Watson, our founder, and arresting him on a decades old Red Notice at the request of Japan,” Ship Operations Director Locky MacLean said in a video message onboard the John Paul DeJoria.

Police can be seen boarding the vessel and leading Watson away in handcuffs in the video.

In a statement, Greenland police said they arrested Watson upon his arrival in Nuuk due to a Japanese arrest warrant. He will be brought before a district court with a request to detain him while a decision is made on his possible extradition to Japan, police added.

His foundation believes the arrest “is connected to a previous Red Notice issued for Watson’s anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic.”

CPWF said it “believes the reactivation of the Red Notice against Captain Watson is politically motivated, coinciding with the launch of the new factory ship.”

The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) told CNN it was aware that Greenland police have issued a statement about Watson and said, “We will continue to respond appropriately in coordination and cooperation with related organizations.”

Interpol issued a Red Notice for Watson in September 2012, two years after the JCG issued an arrest warrant for him. CNN has contacted Interpol for more information.

An early member of Greenpeace, Watson went on to found the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an environmental group famous for tracking, exposing and occasionally ramming Japanese whalers. His attempts to disrupt Japanese whalers at sea gained him fame through Animal Planet’s “Whale Wars” TV show.

“This development comes as a surprise since the Foundation’s lawyers had reported that the Red Notice had been withdrawn. However, it appears that Japan had made the notice confidential to facilitate Paul’s travel for the purpose of making an arrest,” the statement continued. SOURCE…

STATEMENT FROM PAUL WATSON FOUNDATION: THE #FREEPAULWATSON PETITION

On the morning of Sunday, July 21st, Captain Paul Watson, co-founder of marine conservation Greenpeace, founder of Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF), was arrested upon arrival in Nuuk, Greenland.

Captain Watson, on board his 72-meter flagship the M/Y JOHN PAUL DEJORIA stopped in Greenland with 25 volunteer crew to refuel, en route to the North West Passage as a part of the CPWF’s Operation Kangei Maru, a mission to intercept Japan’s newly-built factory whaling ship Kangei Maru in the North Pacific.

The arrest is believed to be related to a former Red Notice issued for Captain Watson’s previous anti-whaling interventions in the Antarctic region. Japan’s Antarctic research whaling program JARPA was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2014.

“We’re completely shocked, as the Red Notice had disappeared a few months ago. We were surprised because it could mean that it had been erased or made confidential. We understand now that 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”, stated Locky MacLean, Ship Operation’s Director for CPWF.

Operating in breach of the ICJ ruling for several years, Japan eventually ceased Antarctic high-seas whaling in 2016, and now only hunts whales within its territorial waters. CPWF believes Japan plans to resume high-seas whaling in the Southern Ocean and North Pacific as early as 2025, and the reactivation of the Red Notice against Captain Watson is politically motivated and coincides with the launch of a newly-built factory whale processing vessel.

In Nuuk, over a dozen Danish police and SWAT team members boarded the M/Y John Paul DeJoria as soon as it made port. After a handcuffed Captain Watson was led off of the ship, he was taken to the local police station. The crew and Foundation have no means of contacting him and have had no further news. At the time of writing, Watson remains in custody and it is unknown whether Denmark will allow Mr. Watson to be extradited to Japan. SOURCE…

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