Demonstrators in Brussels call for release of anti-whaling activist arrested in Greenland
Around 20 people demonstrated outside the Danish embassy in Brussels on Wednesday to demand the release of Canadian animal rights activist Paul Watson. Watson was detained in July in Greenland on an arrest warrant issued by Japan, where he is wanted for his actions against whalers.
The demonstrators are demanding Watson’s immediate release and want to prevent his extradition to Japan.
“Captain Paul Watson must be released immediately and Denmark must refuse his extradition to Japan. If this fails, he faces at least 15 years in prison,” said organiser Vincent Delhauteur.
“Other European countries, such as France, should put extra pressure on Denmark. Denmark has no reason to detain Watson. He has done nothing wrong, all he has done is protect the whales.”
Direct action
Watson is the founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an NGO that aims to protect marine animals and their habitat in the oceans. The organisation is known for its direct action and often confronts whalers at sea.
Watson, who is also a co-founder and former member of Greenpeace, left Sea Shepherd in 2022 and now operates the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.
The charges against him follow the Sea Shepherd's alleged boarding of the Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru 2 in the Southern Ocean in February 2010.
He was arrested on 21 July when he arrived in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, on board the MV John Paul DeJoria, which had docked to replenish supplies. The ship was heading for the Northwest Passage, which links the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, to intercept the Japanese whaler Kangei Maru in the North Pacific.
People attend a protest to demand the release of Paul Watson in front of the Danish embassy in Brussels, 14 August 2024 © BELGA PHOTO TIMON RAMBOER
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