A protest has been held outside the Danish embassy in Dublin calling for the release of veteran environmental activist and anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson.
Mr Watson, a 73-year-old Canadian-American citizen, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society whose direct action tactics, including high-seas confrontations with whaling vessels, have drawn support from A-list celebrities.
He was arrested in the Danish territory of Greenland on Sunday when his ship docked in Nuuk on foot of an international arrest warrant issued by Japan.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF) said he would be detained in Nuuk until August 15 at least, to give the Danish justice ministry time to investigate the case and possible extradition.
At a protest outside the Danish embassy in Dublin, protesters wore fox and badger masks, wrapped themselves in ropes and chanted “is it a crime to save the oceans, is it a crime to save the whales, is it a crime to save the dolphins? No.”
A letter was handed in by protesters to the Danish embassy urging them to release Watson.
Alex Neubauer of the Irish branch of the CPWF told the PA news agency that Watson’s arrest came as “an absolute shock”.
He said that although he has heard Mr Watson is in good spirits, he is facing a prison sentence of up to 15 years in Japan, and there are fears that if he is sent there “he may never leave”.
“Paul Watson was actually two weeks ago in Dublin … and we thought he was free to travel,” he told PA.
“But it looks like the Japanese government made a confidential Red Notice so no one could see it.
“We are getting in contact all over the world, with politicians, with celebrities to ask for Paul Watson to be freed.”
He said they have petitions and have set up a website to help people send letters to embassies and politicians to increase pressure to release the activist.
“Captain Paul Watson saved whales, he kicked a Japanese whaling fleet out of the southern oceans. He always says if the oceans die, we all die. So what we do, we’re saving the whales but we’re also saving humanity.”
He said he hoped the Irish government would push for Watson’s release.
“For Denmark, I say only one thing: the world is watching you.”
