Denmark Environmentalist Paul Watson arrested in Greenland
The well-known environmentalist and anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has been arrested by the police in Greenland.
22.07.2024, 12:53
22.07.2024, 13:01
SDA
According to the Greenlandic police, the Canadian-American citizen was arrested in the capital Nuuk after he called at the harbor there with the ship "John Paul DeJoria". The reason for the arrest is an international arrest warrant issued by the Japanese authorities for the 73-year-old. It is still unclear whether he will be extradited to Japan.
According to Watson's current organization, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, the ship had stopped in Nuuk to refuel. As part of an operation against a new Japanese whaling ship in the North Pacific, it was on its way to the Northwest Passage, which connects the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Arctic.
The organization called on Denmark to release Watson and not to comply with the "politically motivated" detention request. Greenland is largely autonomous, but is officially part of the Danish kingdom. It is therefore up to the Danish Ministry of Justice to decide whether there are grounds for Watson's possible extradition to Japan.
Controversial pioneer of marine animal protection
Watson, the protagonist of the television documentary "Whale Wars", is considered one of the pioneers of the fight for marine animals. However, he is not without controversy among environmentalists due to his confrontational methods.
He was once one of the first members of Greenpeace and later founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which primarily campaigns for the welfare of marine animals - albeit using aggressive methods that other environmental organizations do not approve of.
Watson's actions have led to legal trouble in various countries, especially in whaling and fishing nations.
