Canadian anti-whaling activist Paul Watson detained in Greenland

Paul Watson, the American-Canadian founder of the marine conservation NGO Sea Shepherd, is being held in Greenland.

The 73-year-old was arrested on an international warrant issued by Japan, one of the last states in the world to allow whaling, in a case linked to his lifelong fight.

Arrested in Nuuk, the island's capital, Paul Watson has been kept in custody by the justice system of this autonomous Danish territory in order to guarantee his presence in the event of extradition.

Photo: Rod Long / Unsplash

The activist was arrested at the port where he had come to refuel his boat with the aim of intercepting a Japanese whaling factory ship in the North Pacific, the Huffington Post reports.

"A war machine, the largest whale hunter ever built": this is how he described the Japanese whaling ship whose activity he wanted to prevent, according to the French television station BFM TV .

"This whole affair is grotesque, from the issuance of the arrest warrant in 2012 based on evidence falsified by Japan, to my arrest. It is a travesty of justice."

Extradition to the Japanese archipelago would represent a real risk for Watson. "If he is extradited to Japan, he will not come out alive," said the president of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali, quoted by the Huffington Post.

The activist's arrest "is a matter of revenge on the part of the Japanese legal system and the Japanese authorities," said his lawyer, François Zimeray, quoted by the same media.

Photo: Romeo A / Unsplash

In 2012, an Interpol notice was issued when Japan accused Paul Watson of being one of those responsible for injuries and damage caused two years earlier on a whaling ship in the country.

Watson, who lives in France is accused of having injured a Japanese sailor in the face by throwing a stink bomb to prevent the crew from working. A version that his lawyers dispute.

Born in 1951 and a former member of Greenpeace, from which he was expelled in 1977 for having defended a mode of direct action, Watson created his own organization the same year, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Having led a large number of campaigns over decades, the activist has been prosecuted in several countries, including the United States, Canada, Norway and Japan.

Photo: Richard Sagredo / Unsplash

"I know I didn't commit any crime, I know what I did was right," Watson said from prison in an epistolary interview with Le Parisien.

"I have saved thousands of whales persecuted in the heart of their sanctuary by an eco-terrorist state that believes itself above the law," the activist added.

Photo: Thomas Kelley / Unsplash

Paul Watson's current situation has given rise to a global mobilization, including an online petition which has collected several tens of thousands of signatures across the world.

France also interceded on his behalf with Denmark to convince the authorities of that country not to extradite Paul Watson to Japan.

"If my imprisonment helps to mobilize public opinion on this tragedy, then it is worth it," concludes Paul Watson. The coming weeks will allow us to learn more about his fate and the continuation of his fight.

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