Danish police detain Environmental hero and
star of "Whale Wars" on international arrest order from
Japan.
Videos and Photos
NUUK, Greenland, July 21,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 PAUL WATSON AMBUSHED AND ARRESTED
IN 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 Northwest 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.
"We were here, and arrested Paul due to an international arrest
order from Japan," stated the
leader of the Danish federal police boarding party at the site of
the arrest. The crew were given no further information.
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.
Notes to media:
Video footage and photos
here
Images Credit: CPWF
ABOUT CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON FOUNDATION: The Captain Paul
Watson Foundation, founded in 2022 by esteemed environmental and
conservation activist Paul Watson,
co-founder of Greenpeace, and founder of Sea Shepherd, alongside
tech entrepreneur Omar Todd, is a
US-based non-profit dedicated to marine conservation. Committed to
halting habitat destruction and wildlife slaughter in the world's
oceans, the foundation aims to safeguard marine ecosystems and
species. It uses innovative direct-action tactics to expose and
confront illegal activities at sea.
Visit www.paulwatsonfoundation.org for more
information.
##Media
Inquiries:
Omar Todd:
ceo@neptunes.navy
Captain Locky MacLean Ship Operations Director
CPWF: locky@neptunes.navy
+16282520233 +870773802340
Lamya Essemlali President Sea Shepherd
France: media@seashepherd.fr
+337600754 54
Tom Strerath - Leader
Germany:
germany@paulwatsonfoundation.org
+4917620321911
Imogen Sawyer, CPWF UK,
Overseas Campaigns
Coordinator: faroes@neptunespirates.uk
+44 7739 324 084
Haans Siver,
Director,
CPWF Australia
Australia@paulwatsonfoundation.org
+61 (0)438 033
777
Nathalie Gil, President
Sea Shepherd
Brazil
nathalie@seashepherd.org.br
+1 619 518
1718 (WhatsApp)
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/captain-paul-watson-ambushed-and-arrested-in-greenland-302202176.html
SOURCE The Captain Paul Watson Foundation