Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, faces 15 years in prison.Mobilization in his defense is growing.

Watson was arrested in Greenland on a Japanese arrest warrant.International mobilization is growing to block his extradition.

• Paul Watson was wanted by Japan for a 2010 boarding, complete with an international arrest warrant.
• The Japanese authorities accuse him of complicity in assault, wounding and violation of private property.
• From Emmanuel Macron to Brigitte Bardot to Jane Goodall, many are mobilizing for Watson.

Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, risks up to 15 years of prison in Japan.The frontline anti-whaling activist was arrested on July 21 Greenland during a refueling of his boat, for an international arrest warrant relating to the boarding of a Japanese whaler in 2010.

Watson now risks theextradition in Japan, where he is accused of complicity in assault, wounding and violation of private property.Several leading international figures, from the French president Emmanuel Macron to the ethologist Jane Goodall, have launched an appeal to the Danish authorities in defense of Watson.

The arrest of Paul Watson

Paul Watson was born in Canada in 1950, he is the founder of Sea Shepherd, the world's leading anti-whaling association, and co-founder of Greenpeace.On July 21, while docking in Nuuk, Greenland, to refuel his boat, Danish authorities boarded and arrested him.

Watson is accused of complicity in assault, wounding and trespassing on private property for an incident in 2010 in Japan.The activist Peter Bethune, then a member of Sea Shepherd, had boarded the whaler on a jet ski Shonan Maru and was then arrested, while clashes broke out at sea with activists who had forced the whaler to turn around on its route.The Japanese authorities on that occasion issued a arrest warrant for Watson and the charges surrounding him they can bring up to 15 years in prison.

Watson's arrest at this time is not accidental, given that his expedition was heading towards the North Pacific Ocean to disturb the activity of a new Japanese whaler, after Japan from 2019 resumed commercial whaling.

The appeal against extradition

Watson is in prison Nuuk, in Greenland.Colleagues who visited him said he is fine and will remain there until at least mid-August.Then on August 15th there will be a hearing and he risksextradition to Japan, which has sent a formal request, where he would be put on trial.But at an international level, pressure is growing on the Danish authorities not to follow up on Japan's requests to hand over the Canadian activist, who also 73 years old and he is sick of diabetes.

In France, where Watson once lived, an online appeal against his extradition was launched, which attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures and was also signed by several prominent figures.From the actress Brigitte Bardot to the president Emmanuel Macron, until the English ethologist Jane Goodall, That she made herself heard with her foundation and sent a letter to the Danish authorities in support of the Sea Shepherd founder.In France for the August 3 They were also organized gods principals to ask for Watson's release.