Interpol removes anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson from red notice list
Paul Watson, pursued by Japan and briefly detained in Greenland, hails ‘small justice victory’ for him and ‘a major justice victory’ for whales
Interpol said on Tuesday it was removing a most-wanted designation for anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson, who was sought by Japan over an encounter with a whaling ship and who was jailed for several months last year in Greenland.
Watson, 74, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose high seas confrontations with whaling vessels have drawn support from celebrities and featured in the reality television series Whale Wars.
Japan wants his extradition over an encounter with a Japanese whaling research ship in 2010, when he was accused of obstructing the crew’s official duties by ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the whaling ship. He and his team deny those allegations.
Starting in 2012, Watson had been subject to a “red notice” of Interpol, the Lyon, France-based international police body. A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending legal action, based on a warrant from the judicial authorities in the requesting country, in this case Japan.
The Canadian-American activist - whose recent long white hair and beard give him a Santa Claus look - has long criss-crossed the world’s oceans in an almost singular focus on defending whales, feeding his popularity among environmentalists, animal-rights activists and others. Critics have questioned his often-combative methods.