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Al Jazeera
7 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Interpol takes whaling activist, Sea Shepherd founder off wanted list
Global police organisation Interpol said it has removed its most-wanted designation for the anti-whaling activist and founder of the Sea Shepherd conservation group, Paul Watson, who is wanted in Japan over an encounter with a whaling ship in 2010. Interpol had issued a 'red notice', at Japan's request, for the arrest of the Canadian-American Watson, 74, who is known for his daring tactics, including disrupting and confronting whaling ships on the high seas. Interpol has now decided that the notice was 'disproportionate', Watson's Paris-based lawyer William Julie said on Tuesday. An Interpol 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. In a post on social media by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, the activist was quoted saying: 'Finally I am free.' 'The Japanese whalers have been after me for 14 years ever since I was first detained in Frankfurt, Germany in May 2012,' Watson said. 'It has been an incredible pursuit by a very powerful nation using unlimited resources but finally I am free.' 🚨INTERPOL RED NOTICE CANCELLED!! The Japanese whalers have been after me for 14 years ever since I was first detained in Frankfurt, Germany in May 2012. It has been an incredible pursuit by a very powerful nation using unlimited resources but finally I am free — Captain Paul Watson Foundation 🐋🏴☠️ (@CaptPaulWatson) July 22, 2025 A spokesperson for Interpol confirmed to the AFP news agency that the organisation's Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) had deleted the arrest notice for Watson. 'The CCF decision was made in light of new facts, including the refusal by the Kingdom of Denmark to extradite Mr Watson. This is in line with normal procedures,' the spokesperson said. Watson was arrested and detained in Greenland in July 2024, on a more than decade-old Japanese arrest warrant, which accused him of causing damage to a whaling ship and injuring a whaler. He was released in December after Denmark refused the Japanese extradition request over the 2010 incident. Watson left Denmark on December 20, and returned to France, where his children attend school. In a statement, Watson's lawyer said that the CCF considered that Interpol's red notice 'did not meet Interpol's standards, citing the disproportionate nature of the charges… the considerable passage of time since the alleged facts, Denmark's refusal to extradite him, and the fact that several other countries declined to act on Japan's arrest or extradition requests'. Lamya Essemlali, the president of Sea Shepherd France, hailed the 'good news that this notice was finally cancelled', but noted that Watson could still be arrested and sent to Japan for prosecution. 'It does not give Paul Watson his freedom of movement because the Japanese arrest warrant is sufficient for a country to order his arrest,' she said.
France 24
22-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Interpol lifts red notice for anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson
Interpol had issued the notice against Watson, known for radical tactics including confrontations with whaling ships at sea, at the request of Japan, but has now decided the measure was "disproportionate", lawyer William Julie said. A spokesperson for Interpol confirmed to AFP that the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) had deleted the red notice. Watson, a 74-year-old Canadian-American, was arrested and detained in Greenland in July, 2024 on a 2012 Japanese warrant, which accused him of causing damage to a whaling ship and injuring a whaler. He was released in December after Denmark refused the Japanese extradition request over the 2010 clash with whalers. On December 20, he returned to France, where his children attend school, following a high-profile campaign in his support. "The decision to delete Mr Watson's red notice was made by the CCF -- an independent body tasked to ensure that the processing of personal data by Interpol is in compliance with its constitution and rules," the Interpol spokesperson said. "This is not a judgement on the merits of the case, or the events that occurred in 2010, but a decision based on Interpol's rules on the processing of data," the spokesperson added. "The CCF decision was made in light of new facts, including the refusal by the Kingdom of Denmark to extradite Mr Watson. This is in line with normal procedures." In a statement, Julie said that the CCF considered that the red notice "did not meet Interpol's standards, citing the disproportionate nature of the charges, Mr. Watson's supposed only indirect involvement (which is contested), the considerable passage of time since the alleged facts, Denmark's refusal to extradite him, and the fact that several other countries declined to act on Japan's arrest or extradition requests." He also said that the Commission pointed to the existence of "political elements" around the case. "Regarding potential motivations, the CCF remarked that the disproportionate nature of the red notice 'tends to highlight the strategic character of the case and its symbolic importance beyond its intrinsic criminal characteristics or pure law-enforcement interest'. "The Commission suggested this may indicate the presence of political elements supporting the case –- a point it makes subtly but significantly," Jolie said in the statement. gd-mla-jh-as/bc © 2025 AFP
