Canadian-American animal rights activist Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd and co-founder of Greenpeace, holds a press conference at the penal facility in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, May 21, 2012. He was arrested in Greenland on Sunday. File Photo by Emily Wabitsch/EPA
Renowned anti-whaling activist and former reality show star Paul Watson was arrested in Greenland on Sunday and could face extradition to Japan for alleged actions that happened a decade ago, his organization said.
Watson, co-founder of the marine conservation group Greenpeace and star of the television series Whale Wars, was taken into custody by Denmark authorities in Nuuk, Greenland, as his ship stopped to refuel. Advertisement
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation said he was traveling from Ireland to the North Pacific to track down a Japanese whaling ship.
“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,” said the foundation’s website. “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 to contact him or have had no further news. Watson remains in custody and it is unknown whether Denmark will allow Mr. Watson to be extradited to Japan.” Advertisement
Interpol issued a Red Notice for Watson in 2012 after the Japan Coast Guard issued an arrest warrant for him in 2010. The Japan Coast Guard told CNN that it was aware of Watson’s arrest in Greenland and would “respond appropriately in coordination and cooperation with related organizations.”
Watson’s tactics against the whaling industry have landed him in legal trouble around the world. He was jailed in Germany in 2012 on an international arrest warrant by Costa Rica for “endangering” a fishing vessel near Guatemala in 2002.
He had earlier gained fame for the television show Whale Wars on the Animal Planet network which showed him tracking, distracting and even ramming vessels that hunted whales.
