Anti-whaling activist arrested in Greenland; police threaten extradition to Japan

BERLIN – Greenland police arrested a prominent environmental and anti-whaling activist on Sunday based on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan.

Paul Watson was arrested as his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, a police statement said, adding that he would appear before a district court.

He will be brought before a district court with a request to be held in custody pending a decision on his extradition to Japan, the statement said.

The Captain Paul Watson Foundation said police boarded the ship and took Watson away in handcuffs when it stopped to refuel. The foundation said the ship, carrying 25 crew members, was en route to the Northwest Passage to intercept a new Japanese whaling ship in the North Pacific.

“The arrest is believed to be related to an earlier Red Notice issued because of Captain Watson’s previous anti-whaling operations in the Antarctic,” the foundation said in an emailed statement.

“We implore the Danish government to release Captain Watson and not to comply with this politically motivated request,” Locky MacLean, director of the foundation, said in the statement.

Greenland is an autonomous region of Denmark.

Watson, a Canadian-American citizen, is a former chairman of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. His direct action tactics, which include confrontations with whaling ships on the high seas, have earned him celebrity endorsements and he has appeared on the reality TV series “Whale Wars.”

Japan has accused Watson and Sea Shepherd of endangering the lives of whalers during operations in the Southern Ocean. The Costa Rican authorities have also demanded his extradition.