STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Police in Greenland arrested prominent anti-whaling environmentalist Paul Watson under an international warrant issued by Japan, authorities and his foundation said.
His ship had just docked on Sunday in Nuuk to refuel on its way to “intercept” Japan’s new whaling factory vessel in the North Pacific, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation said.
Video posted by CPWF on social media showed officers handcuffing Watson on the bridge of the John Paul DeJoria ship, putting him inside a police van on the dockside and driving him away.
Police said he would be brought before a district court where they will request his detention “before a decision is made on whether he should be extradited to Japan.”
Watson, who featured in the reality TV series “Whale Wars,” founded the Sea Shepherd and the CPWF organizations, and has drawn attention for direct action tactics, including confrontations with whaling ships at sea.
CPWF said it believed his arrest was in connection with an Interpol Red Notice related to Watson’s previous anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic.
The group added that the arrest was a “surprise” since its lawyers had reported that the Red Notice had been withdrawn.
“However, it appears that Japan had made the notice confidential to facilitate Paul’s travel for the purpose of making an arrest,” a statement said.
Japan’s government on Monday made no comment but a spokeswoman for the Japanese coastguard told AFP it was aware of the arrest.
“The coastguard will continue to take appropriate steps based on coordination with related entities,” the spokeswoman said.
CPWF said the ship was en route to the Northwest Passage in its campaign of “intercepting Japan’s newly-built factory ship, the Kangei Maru, in the North Pacific”.
The 9,300-tonne “mothership,” which set off from Japan in May, butchers whales caught and killed by smaller vessels.
It boasts a powerful winch that can haul carcasses weighing as much as 70 tonnes up a ramp, as well as 40 freezer containers, each with a capacity of 15 tonnes of whale meat.
