Legendary environmental activist Captain Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and founder of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, was arrested in Greenland in July 2024. This was done at the request of the whaling nation Japan without an international or national arrest warrant and without there ever having been a judgement or even a trial. The Danish judiciary delayed the defence hearing month after month. Incriminating video footage that would exonerate Paul Watson beyond doubt was not seen by the court for almost half a year. Paul Watson spent his 74th birthday in prison and was only released on 16 December 2024. The bland aftertaste of the blanket criminalisation of activism remains. Clearly a political issue, as the Faroe Islands, which are also Danish, would have liked to see Watson die in a Japanese prison. It is unacceptable that people like Paul Watson, who have spent 60 years fighting for the environment and against environmental lies, should be extradited to an Asian whaling nation for alleged damage to property, while politicians have been lying to us about climate issues with impunity for half a century. Merry Christmas.
