Interpol drops red notice for Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson
Global police agency Interpol has lifted its red notice against Paul Watson, the 74-year-old founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and prominent anti-whaling activist.
Watson, who has long been pursued by Japan for his direct-action campaigns against whaling ships, celebrated the decision on Tuesday, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera:
"Finally I am free… The Japanese whalers have been after me for 14 years, but finally I am free."
Japan had sought Watson’s arrest over a 2010 confrontation with a whaling vessel, accusing him of damaging the ship and injuring a crew member. He was detained in Greenland in July 2024 but released in December after Denmark refused Japan’s extradition request.
Watson’s Paris-based lawyer, William Julie, said Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files (CCF) found the red notice “disproportionate,” citing the age of the case, Denmark’s refusal to extradite, and other nations declining Japan’s requests.
Despite Interpol’s decision, Watson could still face arrest under Japan’s own international warrant if another country cooperates. Sea Shepherd France welcomed the news but warned that Watson’s “freedom of movement remains limited.”
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