After 5 months of detention in Greenland, the founder of Sea Shepherd has been released. Denmark rejected an extradition request from Japan, where Watson was accused of sabotaging a whaling ship in 2010. The decision was welcomed by environmentalists around the world
@captainpaulwatson
A long legal battle ends with a sigh of relief for Paul Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherdthe environmental organization known for its actions against whaling. Denmark has in fact rejected Japan’s extradition requestwhere Watson was accused of sabotaging a whaling ship in 2010.
The news was greeted with jubilation by Watson’s supporters, who had been fighting for his release for months. “It’s free!“he exclaimed Julie StageWatson’s lawyer, to the AFP news agency. “We have just been informed by the Ministry of Justice that he will not be extradited.”
Watson, 74 years old, American and Canadian citizen, he was arrested in Greenland last Julywhile his ship docked in the port of Nuuk to refuel. Japan accused him of endangering the crew of a whaling ship during a protest in the Southern Ocean by dropping a stink bomb on the ship’s deck.
Watson’s detention had sparked an international mobilization. Numerous environmental organisations, entertainment personalities and politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron, had called on Denmark not to grant the extradition.
Denmark’s decision represents an important victory for the environmental movement and a severe blow for Japan, which continues to defend whaling for “scientific” purposes, despite criticism from the international community.
“This is a huge victory for whales, for oceans and for free speech,” a spokesperson said Captain Paul Watson Foundation. “Paul Watson has dedicated his life to protecting marine animals and he has never stopped fighting for what he believes in. We are happy that he can finally return home.”
The story of Paul Watson is emblematic of the tensions that characterize it the fight to protect the oceans. On the one hand, the whaling industry, strong in economic interests and cultural traditions, continues to aim at the exploitation of marine resources. On the other hand, awareness of thehe importance of preserving biodiversity and the balance of marine ecosystems.
Watson, with his actions often bordering on legality, helped bring the world’s attention to the cruelty of whaling and on the need to protect these giants of the sea. His release represents a sign of hope for all those who they fight for a more sustainable future.
Now Watson will finally be able to return to his home in France and hug his family again. But his fight to protect the oceans doesn’t stop there. “I will continue to fight until the last whaler is sunk,” he has said in the past. We have no doubt that he will keep his promise.
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