Head down and handcuffed, NGO Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, 73, followed Danish police officers to their vehicle in Nuuk, capital of Greenland, an autonomous territory under Danish rule. On Sunday, July 21, law enforcement officers boarded the vessel John Paul DeJoria, on which the American-Canadian activist was sailing. The reason: an Interpol Red Notice, an international arrest warrant issued at Japan's request 12 years ago for anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic that allegedly caused damage and injury in 2010. The activist's stopover in Nuuk was to refuel before continuing on to the North Pacific, as part of a mission targeting the Kangei Maru, Japan's new whaling factory ship. Currently in pre-trial detention, the activist faces extradition to Japan, and a potentially harsh sentence there.

Watson was one of the founders of the Greenpeace organization, which he left in 1977 due to disagreements over militant modes of action. That same year, he founded Sea Shepherd, an organization dedicated to protecting the oceans and biodiversity. The methods employed, such as boarding ships at sea and sabotaging docked vessels, made the captain and his organization famous, while being condemned by his opponents. In 2022, after internal disagreements, he was ousted from the organization, creating Sea Shepherd Origins and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation in order to continue traveling the seas, as he was doing on Sunday.

Japan maintains that Watson's activities against a Japanese whaler in Antarctic waters in 2010 caused "damage and injury," according to the 2012 Red Notice, during two incidents. This version is disputed by the Canadian's supporters. "It's long been said that Japan's accusations are primarily political, not based on any crimes," said Locky MacLean, foundation member and captain of the John Paul DeJoria vessel. He was present when his colleague was arrested.

Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, added: "We feel a huge sense of injustice, we're in shock," before continuing: "If he's being prosecuted, it's only because he saved thousands of whales. It's an ambush, I remind you that he was on his way to a Japanese whaler in the North Pacific." The activist's relatives thought that the Interpol warrant was no longer valid, as "it was no longer online," and feel that they have "been duped." According to François Zimeray, a human rights lawyer and former ambassador to Denmark who has joined the team surrounding Watson since the arrest, "there may well be Red Notices which are not necessarily circulated, and which remain confidential."

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