Anti-whaling activist detained in Greenland requests French citizenship after asylum bid dismissed

PARIS (AP) — Environmental activist Paul Watson, who is detained in Greenland and facing possible extradition to Japan, has formally requested French citizenship after France’s Foreign Minister said his bid for political asylum could not be processed because he is not on French soil. Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd and a prominent anti-whaling advocate, was detained in Nuuk, Greenland, in July as he sought to intercept a Japanese whaling ship. Japan, which has long sought Watson’s extradition, accuses him of obstructing commercial whaling activities and injuring crew members during a confrontation in Antarctic waters in 2010.