Greenland Police recently arrested Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan. The arrest has sparked controversy and raised concerns about the potential extradition of Watson to Japan, where he faces charges related to his anti-whaling activities. This event has brought attention to the complex legal issues surrounding environmental activism and international law.
On Monday, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation said he would be detained in Nuuk at least until Aug. 15, to give the Danish justice ministry — Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark — time to investigate the case and possible extradition. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison in Japan, according to the foundation.
Paul Watson will be brought before a district judge with a request to detain him pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan, the force added.
The 73-year-old was detained when his ship docked in Nuuk, the autonomous Danish territory's capital, Greenland police said.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation said more than a dozen police boarded the vessel when it stopped to refuel and led Watson away in handcuffs.
Watson will not be joining the DeJoria's mission, at least not immediately. Denmark's federal police met the vessel at the pier, boarded it and placed the 73-year-old activist under arrest. The agency has confirmed that he was detained in connection with a Japanese request for his extradition.
"It appears that Japan had made the notice confidential to facilitate Paul’s travel for the purpose of making an arrest," the foundation claimed.
The Red Notice is believed to be in connection with Watson's activities with his former group Sea Shepherd in 2010, when the group interdicted Japanese whaling operations in the Southern Ocean. That notice - which Watson and his foundation had believed to be withdrawn - was originally issued for alleged acts of "Breaking into the Vessel, Damage to Property, Forcible Obstruction of Business, and Injury," according to Interpol.
Police confirmed that Mr Watson appeared in a constitutional hearing before the Sermersooq Circuit Court after his arrest, where the judge decided he must be detained during the investigation
The foundation described more than a dozen police officers boarding the vessel and leading Watson away in handcuffs when it stopped to refuel. The foundation said the ship, along with 25 volunteer crew members, was en route to the North Pacific on a mission to intercept a new Japanese whaling ship.
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