Activist Paul Watson asks France for political asylum to avoid possible extradition to Japan

Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, known for his decades-long fight against Japanese whaling and arrested in Greenland in July, has asked France’s president for political asylum. That’s according to Sea Shepherd France. Watson faces extradition to Japan, where he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. He was detained after a Japanese request to Interpol over his confrontational tactics aimed at disrupting Japanese whaling operations in the Antarctic. French President Emmanuel Macron previously expressed his support for Watson and emphasized the importance of the case to environmental advocacy and human rights.