The Canadian-American Watson, 74, is renowned for his daring deeds, including confronting and disrupting whaling ships on the high seas, and Interpol had issued a “red notice” for his arrest at Japan’s request.
According to Watson’s Paris-based attorney William Julie, Interpol has now decided that the notice was “disproportionate.”
A person is referred to as an Interpol red notice when a person is notified that they are requesting a search and temporary arrest pending legal action from the relevant country’s judicial system, in this case, Japan.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation quoted the activist as saying, “Finally I am free.”
Since I was first detained in Frankfurt, Germany in May 2012, the Japanese whalers have followed me for 14 years, according to Watson.
“A very powerful nation has pursued an incredible goal with no end in sight despite having unrestricted resources.”
INTERPOL RED NOTICE IS DISCLOSED! !
Since I was first detained in Frankfurt, Germany in May 2012, the Japanese whalers have followed me for 14 years.
A very powerful country has pursued me for an incredible amount of money, but I am finally free. twitter.com/XIBuMwksoe
The arrest notice for Watson had been removed, according to a spokesperson for Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF).
The Kingdom of Denmark’s decision was based on “new facts,” such as the refusal to extradite Mr. Watson. The spokesperson claimed that this is in line with industry standards.
On a more than ten-year-old Japanese arrest warrant, Watson was detained and detained in Greenland in July 2024, he was accused of causing harm to a whaling ship and injuring a whaler. After Denmark turned down the Japanese’s request for extradition in December for the incident in 2010, he was freed.
On December 20, Watson left Denmark and drove his children to France, where they study.
The CCF stated in a statement that the agency’s red notice “did not meet Interpol’s standards,” citing the “disproportionate nature of the allegations,” the “considerable passage of time” since the allegations, Denmark’s refusal to extradite him, and the fact that several other countries refused to respond to Japan’s arrest or extradition requests.
The president of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali, applauded the “good news” that Watson could still be detained and taken to Japan for trial.
Source: Aljazeera
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