French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said it is pressuring Danish authorities not to extradite arrested anti-whaling activist Paul Watson to Japan, according to France 24.
Watson, the 73-year-old American-Canadian founder of activist group Sea Shepherd, had been living in France for the past year. Macron is “following the situation closely” and “intervening with the Danish authorities”, his office at the Elysee Palace said.
Watson was arrested in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, on Sunday on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan. He will remain in custody until 15 August, while Denmark’s justice ministry must decide whether to extradite him.
In France, an online petition to Macron calling for Watson’s release has garnered 388,000 signatures. Green Party lawmakers have also put pressure on Macron, with 89-year-old film legend Brigitte Bardot saying on Monday:
We must do everything to save Paul.
Watson’s ship docked in Greenland’s capital Nuuk on Sunday to refuel and he was arrested on board. The ship was on its way to “intercept” a Japanese vessel to hunt and process whales in the North Pacific, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation said in a statement.
Japan is one of the last three countries in the world to allow commercial whaling, along with Iceland and Norway. Watson’s foundation said it has been the subject of an Interpol red notice due to events during a collision with a Japanese whaling vessel in the Antarctic dating back to 2010, including property damage and injuries. Francois Zimeray, one of Watson’s lawyers, stated:
The Japanese arrest warrant is illegal. It violates all international human rights treaties.
