DIVE LOG AUSTRALASIA ISSUE 413 AUGUST 25

By Captain Paul Watson L et’s talk about the power of a malicious government to wage petty wars of retribution against individuals working to expose crimes and corruption. Between 2005 and 2017, I starred in Whale Wars on Animal Planet, a show that drew global attention to Japan’s illegal whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, a violation of the International Whaling Commission’s moratorium on commercial whaling. Our efforts contributed to the 2014 ruling by the International Court of Justice reaffirming the illegality of Japan’s whaling. In retaliation, Japan issued an arrest warrant against me for “conspiracy to trespass” and “obstruction of business,” charges based solely on claims by Pete Bethune. Pete struck a plea deal with Japanese prosecutors by claiming I ordered him to board the Japanese harpoon ship in order to confront the captain about ramming Pete’s vessel. He later signed an affidavit admitting he lied, which the Japanese refused to accept, even after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reviewed it and cleared me to return to the U.S. Separately, Costa Rica issued a Red Notice through Interpol for a 2002 intervention against shark finning, despite a Costa Rican court clearing me and my action having been done with Guatemalan authorities’ cooperation. In 2015, my lawyer filed to have this dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Supreme Court Judge Celso Gamboa Rica denied it without explanation. Last month (June 2025), Gamboa was extradited to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. According to the indictment, he was linked to the narcotics trade often facilitated by fishing vessels, the same community pressuring for action against me. Victor Boza, our Costa Rican chapter leader, said, “His arrest exposes troubling signs of corruption and reinforces the challenges Paul Watson faced in seeking justice.” In 2017, a new Costa Rican government dismissed the Red Notice and the Minister of the Environment even apologized. Yet, for 14 years I was persecuted under an Interpol Red Notice. In April this year, it was suspended, pending a review of political abuse. Then, on June 15, 2025, Vitalie Pîrlog, former chair of INTERPOL’s Commission for the Control of Files, was arrested in Dubai on charges of forgery, bribery, and fraud. Pîrlog had direct access to my case files. While there’s no proof, he took bribes from Japan to keep my Red Notice in International Crimes, Corruption, Conspiracies, Capers

place, his arrest highlights systemic corruption within INTERPOL. He allegedly enabled fugitives to evade justice for money, raising questions about how Red Notices could also be wrongly maintained. Interpol’s flaws were acknowledged in 2017 by a European Parliamentary Committee, which cited my case as an example of political abuse. Japan’s whaling industry, a criminal enterprise shielded by its government, relied on institutions like INTERPOL to harass those who stood in their way. I remain the only person in history to be given a Red Notice for “conspiracy to trespass” and “conspiracy to obstruct business.” Ironically, while on that Red Notice, I also worked with INTERPOL. In 2015, after stopping the illegal fishing vessel Thunder , we handed over confiscated gear and evidence to INTERPOL in Mauritius. In July 2024, Danish tactical police arrested me in Greenland based on the Red Notice. Japan had falsely described me as an “armed eco-terrorist,” despite my nonviolent record. The Greenland court took five months to consider our evidence and ruled for extradition. The next day, Denmark’s justice minister intervened and released me. Japan reacted furiously, summoning Denmark’s ambassador for a diplomatic scolding. I later learned from President Emmanuel Macron that Japan had pressured France to extradite me, even threatening economic sanctions. France refused. Macron personally assured me I would always be safe in France. Conspiracies, corruption, threats and global persecution. All this for saving whales! To follow my ongoing campaigns to protect ocean life, visit paulwatsonfoundation.org.

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