Iceland says to rule on anti-whaling activists' expulsion this week

Icelandic authorities will likely decide this week whether to expel 21 anti-whaling activists held in Reykjavik since last week after their ship was seized while pursuing a whaling ship, immigration officials told AFP on Tuesday.

The Bandero, a vessel belonging to a foundation led by animal rights activist Paul Watson, was boarded by Icelandic authorities overnight from Thursday to Friday off Iceland after it obstructed the operations of one of Iceland's last remaining whaling ships, the Hvalur 9.

One of the 21 people on board the Bandero told AFP the activists had initially intended to ram the whaling ship but were too slow, and instead launched an inflatable boat to deploy a net that would damage the whaling ship's propellers. That also failed.

Icelandic police have accused the activists of "suspected violations of international law of the sea and endangering maritime security", and requested their expulsion and a ban on their return to Iceland.

"I can confirm that the cases of the crew of the ship Bandero are being processed at the Directorate of Immigration in accordance with national laws regarding possible expulsion and entry ban," the head of the Directorate of Immigration, Kristin Volundardottir, told AFP in an email.

The decisions should be made "within the next days and hopefully no later than at the end of this week," she said.

According to a list provided by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, the Bandero crew is made up of five Americans, four Brazilians, three French nationals, two Spaniards, one Australian, one Belgian, one Canadian, one German, one Briton, one Swiss national and one citizen of Trinidad and Tobago.

Since the Bandero was boarded by the Icelandic coast guard, the crew have been confined to the vessel, which is now moored in the Reykjavik port.

Paul Watson himself, who holds both American and Canadian citizenship, was not on board.

His foundation said the boarding took place in international waters and has denounced both the crew's "detention", arguing it far exceeded the 24 hours allowed under Icelandic law, as well as the seizure of their phones.

Iceland is, along with Norway and Japan, one of the only countries that still allows commercial whaling.

The Icelandic government plans to introduce a bill this autumn aimed at banning the practice.