TWO ALERTS: CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON ARRESTED IN GREENLAND
Radioactive Waste Symposium in San Diego
We don’t usually put out two columns in one day (and apologies to your in-box) but Captain Paul Watson, whom we interviewed just two weeks ago as he was about to set out through the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to interdict a renewed Japanese whaling fleet—has been arrested. If you feel his cause, and that of the world’s remaining cetaceans, is just, as we do at Hot Globe, please take a moment to read what happened, and write the Danish government to #FREEPAULWATSON, details below.
Also, in an equal but different realm of urgency, our colleagues at the Samuel Lawrence Foundation are presenting a symposium TOMORROW on Radioactive Waste: Growing Threats, Emerging Solutions, details at the end.
CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON AMBUSHED AND ARRESTED IN GREENLAND
Dear Steve,
On the morning of Sunday, July 21st, Captain Paul Watson was arrested upon arrival in Nuuk, Greenland by Danish federal police.
Captain Watson, on board his 72-meter flagship the M/Y John Paul DeJoria stopped in Greenland with 25 volunteer crew to refuel, en route to the NorthWest Passage as a part of the CPWF’s Operation Kangei Maru, a mission to intercept Japan’s newly-built factory whaling ship Kangei Maru in the North Pacific.
“We were here and arrested Paul due to an international arrest order from Japan”, stated the commanding officer of the Danish federal police at the site of the arrest. The crew were given no further information.
The arrest is believed to be related to a former Red Notice issued for Captain Watson’s previous anti-whaling interventions in the Antarctic region. Japan’s Antarctic research whaling program JARPA was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2014.
“We’re completely shocked, as the Red Notice had disappeared a few months ago. We were surprised because it could mean that it had been erased or made confidential. We understand now that Japan made it confidential to lure Paul into a false sense of security. We implore the Danish government to release Captain Watson and not entertain this politically-motivated request”, stated Locky MacLean, Ship Operation’s Director for CPWF.
Operating in breach of the ICJ ruling for several years, Japan eventually ceased Antarctic high-seas whaling in 2016, and now only hunts whales within its territorial waters. CPWF believes Japan plans to resume high-seas whaling in the Southern Ocean and North Pacific as early as 2025, and the reactivation of the Red Notice against Captain Watson is politically motivated and coincides with the launch of a newly-built factory whale processing vessel.
In Nuuk, over a dozen Danish police and SWAT team members boarded the M/Y John Paul DeJoria as soon as it made port. After a handcuffed Captain Watson was led off of the ship, he was taken to the local police station. The crew and Foundation have no means of contacting him and have had no further news. At the time of writing, Watson remains in custody and it is unknown whether Denmark will allow Mr. Watson to be extradited to Japan.
#FREEPAULWATSON
Contact the Ministry of Justice
Dear Steve,
We need your help to #FREEPAULWATSON
Please contact the Ministry of Justice in Copenhagen regarding the arrest of Paul F Watson in Nuuk, Greenland. Paul will be detained in Nuuk until August 15 to allow the Danish Ministry of Justice time to decide whether to extradite him to Japan on an international arrest warrant. The maximum sentence he faces is 15 years in a Japanese prison.
We urge you to contact the Ministry of Justice in Copenhagen and organize a protest at your local Danish Embassy. Please reach out to your nearest CPWF chapter to coordinate the day and time.
Ministry of Justice in Copenhagen
Phone : +45 7226 8400
Email : jm@jm.dk
Feel free to use the below text in your email and remember to be polite and refrain from making threats if you choose to add your own text:
To the Ministry of Justice,
I am writing to express my shock at the arrest of Captain Paul Watson by Danish police in Greenland when the Captain Paul Watson Foundation ship, the John Paul DeJoria docked for refueling.
The police said they were acting on a red notice issued by Japan for Captain Watson's arrest because he dared to stand up against the Japanese whaling vessels killing whales in international waters, in violation of the International Whaling Commission restrictions.
Europe has banned whaling, and Denmark is part of the EU. I would not have thought arresting a man who has done nothing but spend his life defending marine life and our oceans was in the Danish public interest. Why act as an enforcer for the Japanese whaling industry when no other country has felt compelled to do so since the red notice was issued?
Please take a stand against this unjust act and prevent Captain Watson from being extradited to Japan. The world is watching closely, and any harm that comes to this dedicated defender of our oceans will be noted, affecting Denmark’s reputation.
With hope and expectation that you will do what is right.
AND TOMORROW, AT UC SAN DIEGO, A HIGHLY IMPORTANT SYMPOSIUM ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE:
You can register by going to the Samuel Lawrence Foundation website here. While the dangers of nuclear waste from bumbled nuclear reactors like the one on the coast of Southern California at San Onofre, which poses a potential danger to some 8 million residents, the J.D. Vance “Drill, Baby, Drill” side of the aisle wants to loose all protections for new nuclear even though as Amory Lovins points out in a recent Hot Globe there is no business case at all, and at the same time some misguided Democrats including Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer, so far seem to see nuclear as a solution to climate change that would provide jobs and be useful to a potential nuclear arms race. It is an issue that will be rearing its ugly and confusing head greatly over the coming years. The Radioactive Waste Symposium, if you can attend or tune in, sheds much needed light:
The symposium will feature opening remarks by Margaret Leinen, PhD, Vice Chancellor and Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and presentations by prominent voices such as Congressman Mike Levin, Rear Admiral Len Hering (USN-ret.), Gregory Jaczko, physicist and former chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Amory Lovins, co-founder and chairman emeritus of RMI, and Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford University.
When the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was decommissioned in 2013, the radioactive waste it produced were stored in poorly designed thin-walled metal canisters, buried on a shoreline facing increasingly harsh king tides. We should note that this terrifying scenario is taking place in the heart of a fault zone so tectonically active that it is known as Earthquake Bay.
Few nuclear power plants have as many threats stacked one on top of the other as San Onofre. But they all share one thing in common: there is no disposal plan — none — for radioactive waste.
Folks have asked for an update. This today from the Captain Paul Watson Foundation:
#FreePaulWatson
Paul arriving at Nukk court hearing August 15, 2024
Update on Paul Watson’s Hearing
Paul Watson has been denied the basic right to defend himself with evidence, while enduring degrading treatment that is more fitting for a convicted criminal than a man yet to have his day in court. The Ministry of Justice must act swiftly to end this travesty.
Paul was brought to court today in Nuuk, Greenland handcuffed and in immense pain when trying to exit the backseat of a police van.
The entire court hearing was in Danish and Paul was not allowed a translator, which goes against Danish law.
Paul concluded his statement in court saying, "It's obvious to me that Japan is seeking revenge for the international humiliation caused by the Whale Wars TV series, reporting our actions against illegal whaling. But my two little boys need me more than Japan needs its revenge.”
The court refused to see video evidence of the Whale Wars series that shows that the Japanese fabricated evidence. This evidence is not only publicly available, but also strongly refutes the charges against him. This evidence, if allowed, could significantly undermine the case being brought by the Japanese authorities. The refusal to consider this evidence raises serious concerns about the fairness of the legal proceedings and suggests that Watson is being denied a fair opportunity to defend himself.
The actions taken against Watson represent a blatant violation of his personal rights. The denial of his ability to present exculpatory evidence, coupled with his prolonged detention under dubious circumstances, highlights a disturbing disregard for his basic human rights. This case not only threatens Watson's freedom, but also sets a dangerous precedent for the treatment of activists and the protection of individual rights in the face of politically motivated persecution.
The positive aspect of this trial is that Japan has now catapulted Operation Kangei Maru to a worldwide audience. Operation Kangei Maru would not have received such attention, so by them arresting Paul, it is putting their actions on trial for the whole world to witness and judge.
The Judge's verdict - Paul is being held in prison until September 5 pending the Justice Department's decision on potential extradition to Japan.
Paul’s lawyers immediately appealed the decision to the High Court of Greenland.
Statement by Lawyers Julie Stage and Jonas Christoffersen- “The allegations against Paul Watson are based on facts constructed by Japanese authorities to stop Paul Watson's campaign. Paul Watson is accused of conspiring with Peter Bethune to injure a crew member of the Shonan Maru, who the Japanese claim was on the deck of the ship when the stink bomb hit the ship. The facts that led to Peter Bethune's conviction in Japan in 2010. Video shows the crew member was not on deck when the stink bomb hit the ship, contrary to Japanese claims. What the images also show is that the Japanese had, a short time earlier, used large quantities of pepper gas, which touched their own crew in the face. These videos show Japan made up facts to obtain extradition and conviction. Our team will be releasing Animal Planet videos so the public can understand what this case is really about.”
We need ALL hands on deck - Let your voices be heard!
Email and Call
Denmark’s Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard
jm@jm.dk
+45 7226 8400
#FreePaulWatson