Captain Paul Watson ambushed and arrested in Greenland

“We were here and arrested Paul on the basis of an international arrest warrant from Japansaid the head of the Danish Federal Police boarding party at the scene of the arrest. No further information was given to the crew.

The arrest is believed to be related to an earlier Red Notice issued in connection with Captain Watson’s previous operations against whaling in the Antarctic. Japan’s The Antarctic whaling research program JARPA was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2014.

“We are completely shocked because the Red Notice disappeared a few months ago. We were surprised because it could mean that it was deleted or made confidential. We now understand that Japan made it confidential to lull Paul into a false sense of security. We implore the Danish government to release Captain Watson and not to comply with this politically motivated request,” said Locky MacLeanCPWF Ship Operations Manager.

Violating the ruling of the International Court of Justice for several years, Japan In 2016, the CPWF stopped whaling on the high seas in the Antarctic and now only hunts whales within its territorial waters. The CPWF believes Japan Plans to resume whaling on the high seas in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific as early as 2025; the reactivation of the Red Notice against Captain Watson is politically motivated and coincides with the commissioning of a newly built whale processing vessel.

In Nuuk, over a dozen Danish police officers and SWAT team members boarded the M/Y John Paul DeJoria as soon as it reached port. After being led off the ship, the handcuffed Captain Watson was taken to the local police station. The crew and the Foundation have no way of contacting him and have received no further news. At the time of writing, Watson is still in custody and it is unknown whether Denmark will facilitate the extradition of Mr Watson to Japan.

Notes for the media:
Video material and photos Here

Photo credit: CPWF

ABOUT THE CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON FOUNDATION: The Captain Paul Watson Foundation, founded in 2022 by a respected environmental and conservation activist Paul WatsonCo-founder of Greenpeace and founder of Sea Shepherd, alongside technology entrepreneur Omar Toddis a US-based nonprofit organization dedicated to marine conservation. The foundation is committed to stopping habitat destruction and the slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans and protecting marine ecosystems and species. It uses innovative direct action tactics to expose and confront illegal activities at sea. Visit www.paulwatsonfoundation.org for more informations.

##Media inquiries:

Omar Todd: (email protected)

Captain Locky MacLean, CPWF Ship Operations Manager: (email protected)
+16282520233 +870773802340

Lamya Essemlali, President of Sea Shepherd France: (email protected)
+337600754 54

Tom Strerath – Leader Germany: (email protected)
+4917620321911

Imogen SawyerCPWF UK, Overseas Campaigns Coordinator: (email protected)
+44 7739 324 084

Haan’s SilverDirector,
CPWF Australia
(email protected)
+61 (0)438 033 777

Nathalie Gil, President
Sea Shepherd Brazil
(email protected)
+1 619 518 1718 (WhatsApp)

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