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.
Paul Watson Arrested - ACTIONS to take
On the morning of Sunday, July 21st, Captain Paul Watson was
arrested upon arrival in Nuuk, Greenland by Danish federal police.
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 commanding officer of the Danish federal
police 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.
#FREEPAULWATSON