Nature Japan set to extradite 73-year old whale activist and seeks 15-year jail sentence

[Maciamo]

Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, is detained in a Greenland prison due to a 2012 Interpol arrest warrant from Japan. Japan seeks his extradition for allegedly damaging a whaling ship and injuring a crew member in 2010. Watson, known for radical anti-whaling tactics, faces a potential 15-year sentence in Japan. He maintains his innocence and has support from over 100,000 people worldwide, including French President Emmanuel Macron's office and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot.

Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson says Japan seeking to make an example of him

More than 100,000 people across the world have signed a petition calling for his release.

French president Emmanuel Macron's office has asked Denmark not to extradite the activist, as has Brigitte Bardot, the French actor turned animal rights activist. Watson has lived in France for almost two years.

"Denmark is in a very difficult place," he said. "They can't extradite me because first they are vocal proponents of human rights," adding that the Japanese judicial system was "medieval".

"I didn't do anything, and even if I did the sentence would be [a fine of] 1,500 kroner ($223) in Denmark – not even a prison sentence – while Japan wants to sentence me to 15 years."

 

[thomas]

Anti-whaling campaigner arrested, possibly extradited to Japan

Greenland police announced the arrest of veteran environmental activist and anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson on Sunday, based on an international arrest warrant from Japan. Watson was detained when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland's capital. He will appear before a district court to...

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