Sea Shepherd Arrest

Paul Watson, president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has been arrested in the Netherlands under an order of the Norwegian Government.

In 1992, Norway announced its intention to return to the commercial slaughter of whales despite the 1986 International Whaling Commission's ban on whaling. Sea Shepherd said that it would enforce the ban on whaling as well as international treaties protecting endangered wildlife. 1994 saw Sea Shepherd’s Paul Watson and Lisa Distefano convicted in absentia by a Norwegian court for sinking an illegal Norwegian whaling vessel. In July 1994, off the northern coast of Norway, their boat was rammed by the coastguard who then fired on them. Watson was accused of ramming the vessel but charges were dropped in 1996. On March 31st of this year, while supervising the transfer of a Sea Shepherd ship in preparation for a campaign against illegal driftnetting in the Mediterranean, Paul was arrested by harbour police in the German port of Bremerhaven acting on Norway's Interpol warrant. German authorities chose not to extradite him and he was released. Three days later, Paul was arrested again by Dutch police in Amsterdam. At a preliminary hearing held on the 3rd of April, he was ordered to be held for 20 days to allow Norway to make an extradition request. Paul Watson requests that we must not let this happen as he has received death threats and fears what might happen to him if extradited. The following details may be useful:

Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Tel: +31 70 348 4196, Fax: +31 70 34 5559, Bezuidenhoutseug 67, 2594AC The Hague. Write to Paul Watson, Penitentiaire Inrichting Lelystad, Larserdreef 300, 8233HB Lolystad, The Netherlands. Contact your nearest Netherlands Consulate and ask for Paul’s release and to relay your message to the Netherlands - time is crucial!