the story of a legal and media frenzy

Will the prison remain Captain Paul Watson’s ship for much longer? ? The 73-year-old American-Canadian activist, detained since July 21 in Greenland, must be determined on his fate on Wednesday October 2. The court in Nuuk, the capital of the Danish island, must examine a third request for the release of the environmental activist. At the end of this hearing, Paul Watson will know whether or not he can live outside Greenlandic jails, while waiting for the Danish Ministry of Justice to render its decision on the extradition request filed on July 31 by Japan. . He faces fifteen years in prison.

All requests for release filed by the Sea Shepherd founder’s lawyers have so far been refused by the Nuuk court. The court justified its decisions by its desire to « to guarantee » the presence of Paul Watson on Danish soil « at the time of the extradition decision » towards Japan. More than seventy days after the environmental activist was placed in detention, Reporterre returns to the issues of this legal case.

• A spectacular arrest with fragile motives

The images went around the world. On July 21, while Paul Watson and his crew were stopping in Nuuk to refuel their ship, several Danish police officers burst onto the deck. The septuagenarian activist, known for his long battle against whaling, was handcuffed and then thrown into a police van. « It hurt my wristhe recently confided to Reporterre. Since then, I have had a lot of trouble writing. » Since then, he has not been released from prison.

The cases for which Paul Watson was arrested date back around fifteen years. In early 2010, the Sea Shepherd crew led an operation against Japanese whaling ships in Antarctica. The Asian archipelago is one of the last three states – with Iceland and Norway – to practice whaling, despite the moratorium of the International Whaling Commission, which has banned trade in these cetaceans since 1986.

In order to interrupt the activities of the whalers, the crew resorted to « non-violence agressive »a method theorized by Paul Watson, which advocates harassing poachers head-on without resorting to physical violence. Specifically, during this 2010 mission, Sea Shepherd members blasted classical music, threw ropes under the propellers of harpoon ships, and threw red paint and acid-based stink bombs. butyric (a harmless compound used to spoil the smell of meat).

According to Japanese authorities, sending stink bombs at one of the whalers, the Nisshin Marureportedly caused facial burns to a fisherman. Paul Watson and his defense deny these accusations. Based on videos filmed during the filming of the series Whale Warsthey assure that no fishermen were on the deck of the whaler at the time of the action. The sailors, according to them, injured themselves on their own by trying to throw pepper spray at the activists. The substance would have been dispersed on their faces by the wind.

The « Nisshin Maru » hoisting a minke whale to its slipway in 2009.
Flickr/CC BYon 2.0/Guano

Japan also accuses Paul Watson of boarding conspiracy. On February 15, 2010, New Zealand environmentalist Pete Bethune, who had come to help Sea Shepherd with its mission in Antarctica, boarded a Japanese whaling ship, the Shōnan Maru 2. He wanted to present to the captain the invoice for his ultra-modern trimaran, theAdy Gilcut in two a month earlier by the harpoon ship following a collision.

Once on board, the New Zealander was arrested and then taken to Japan, where he pleaded guilty to the collision. He also told authorities that he had acted under the command of Paul Watson — even though the idea came from him.

These different events led to Captain Watson being accused « forcible obstruction of trade, bodily harm, trespass on a vessel and vandalism »according to the Japanese arrest warrant consulted by Release. A red notice — a report issued by Interpol at the request of a police service, requiring its international counterparts to locate and arrest a person — was issued in 2012. Long available online, it had recently disappeared from the Interpol website. This is what led Paul Watson to believe that he was free to move, according to the president of Sea Shepherd , Lamya Essemlali, and led him to let down his guard.

• The fierce defense of the whaling industry

The relentlessness of the Japanese authorities against Paul Watson can, according to him, be explained by his long-standing and highly publicized fight against whaling. When the country announced last May the launch of its new 44 million euro whaler, the Kangei MaruPaul Watson and his foundation immediately announced that they wanted him « block the road ». At the time of his arrest, the captain was on his way to the Arctic Ocean, where he hoped « intercept » the factory ship.

The energy spent by Japan to defend whaling is surprising, given that its inhabitants hardly consume any more: they ate 200,000 tonnes per year in the 1960s, compared to 2,000 tonnes today. ‘today.

• An exceptional wave of support

ONGpoliticians, artists, citizens, ocean lovers… The arrest of Paul Watson has sparked a massive outpouring of support in France. Tuesday 1is October, nearly 800,000 people signed a petition launched by journalist Hugo Clément, demanding his release.

Even the government, usually reluctant to fight against the destruction of the oceans, expressed its support. Barely five days after his arrest, the Secretary of State for the Sea and Biodiversity, Hervé Berville – since replaced at the Ministry of the Sea by Fabrice Loher – greeted a « historical defender of the ocean »and called for the country to work for its liberation.


Thousands of people have signed the petition calling for the release of Paul Watson.
© Sea Shepherd

According to historian and director of studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études Michel Pastoureau, the unprecedented support given to Paul Watson can be explained by the fact that whaling only concerns a minority of states. . It is easy for leaders of countries that do not consume it to buy ecological virginity by taking a position on a subject that is not controversial on their territory.

Paul Watson also plays « a very attractive image of a savior »analysis in Mediapart Milo Villain, author of a thesis in 2019 on « ocean defenders ». Since his departure from Greenpeace and his founding of Sea Shepherd at the end of the 1970s, the captain has multiplied shocking and telegenic actions: covering baby seals with paint to make their fur unfit for sale, sinking (in port, and without the presence of the crew) of the ships, roaming the seas with their hair blowing in the wind, pirate logo flocked on clothing, in pursuit of poachers…

« He is a prototype of the environmentalist hero based on the imagery of the adventurer sailor, the warrior, the vigilante pirate. We ultimately remain on standards of virility, of a man who goes into battle, he is a more conservative figure than a Greta Thunberg, for example, who will be attacked on her feminine and young side. »notes the sociologist specializing in environmental struggles Sylvie Ollitrault in Mediapart.

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