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Global police organisation Interpol has lifted a red wanted notice requesting the arrest of Paul Watson, an anti-whaling activist and founder of the Sea Shepherd NGO, one of his lawyers told AFP.

Interpol had issued the notice against Watson, known for radical tactics including confrontations with whaling ships at sea, at the request of Japan, but has now decided the measure was “disproportionate”, lawyer William Julie said.

A spokesperson for Interpol confirmed to AFP that the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF) had deleted the red notice.

Watson, a 74-year-old Canadian-American, was arrested and detained in Greenland in July 2024 on a 2012 Japanese warrant, which accused him of causing damage to a whaling ship and injuring a whaler.

He was released in December after Denmark refused the Japanese extradition request over the 2010 clash with whalers.

On December 20, he returned to France, where his children attend school, following a high-profile campaign in his support.

“The decision to delete Mr Watson’s red notice was made by the CCF – an independent body tasked to ensure that the processing of personal data by Interpol is in compliance with its constitution and rules,” the Interpol spokesperson said.

“This is not a judgment on the merits of the case, or the events that occurred in 2010, but a decision based on Interpol’s rules on the processing of data,” the spokesperson added.

“The CCF decision was made in light of new facts, including the refusal by the Kingdom of Denmark to extradite Mr Watson. This is in line with normal procedures.”

In a statement, Julie said that the CCF considered that the red notice “did not meet Interpol’s standards, citing the disproportionate nature of the charges, Mr Watson’s supposed only indirect involvement (which is contested), the considerable passage of time since the alleged facts, Denmark’s refusal to extradite him, and the fact that several other countries declined to act on Japan’s arrest or extradition requests”.

He also said that the commission pointed to the existence of “political elements” around the case.

“Regarding potential motivations, the CCF remarked that the disproportionate nature of the red notice ‘tends to highlight the strategic character of the case and its symbolic importance beyond its intrinsic criminal characteristics or pure law-enforcement interest’.

“The commission suggested this may indicate the presence of political elements supporting the case – a point it makes subtly but significantly,” Jolie said in the statement.

- Agence France-Presse