A demonstration in support of US-Canadian anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, of the NGO Sea Shepherd, took place in Paris on Wednesday, with attendees holding placards.
A Greenland court has extended the detention of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson for an additional three weeks, as they await a decision on his potential extradition to Japan, where he faces charges related to an altercation with whalers. This marks the fourth extension of his detention since his arrest in July in Nuuk, the capital of the Danish autonomous territory.
"The court in Greenland has today decided that Paul Watson shall continue to be detained until November 13, 2024, to ensure his presence in connection with the decision on extradition," Greenland police stated in a release. The police also noted that Watson had immediately appealed the decision.
Watson's lawyer, Julie Stage, informed AFP prior to the hearing that her team would request his immediate release, though she acknowledged that this might not realistically occur. Stage is also preparing an appeal to be filed with Denmark's Supreme Court regarding the Nuuk court's earlier ruling on October 2 to keep the 73-year-old in custody.
Watson was arrested on July 21 when his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, docked in Nuuk for refueling en route to intercept a new Japanese whaling factory vessel in the North Pacific, according to the CPWF. He was detained based on a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant, which accuses him of damaging a whaling ship in the Antarctic in 2010 and injuring a whaler.
Watson, who founded Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF), is known for his radical tactics, including confrontations with whaling ships at sea. In a rare public comment on the case, Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya recently emphasized that the extradition request is a matter of maritime law enforcement rather than a whaling issue.
Tokyo accuses Watson of injuring a Japanese crew member with a stink bomb during a clash with the Shonan Maru 2 vessel on February 11, 2010. Watson's lawyers maintain his innocence and claim to have video evidence proving the crew member was not on deck when the stink bomb was thrown. However, the Nuuk court has refused to view the video.
The custody hearings focus solely on Watson's detention, with the extradition request being reviewed by Denmark's justice ministry. In September, Watson's lawyers contacted the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, expressing concerns that he could face inhumane treatment in Japanese prisons.
Watson, who was living in France at the time of his arrest, has written to French President Emmanuel Macron requesting political asylum. World-renowned British conservationist Jane Goodall expressed hope that France would accept his plea, describing him as a "brave man."
As Watson's hearing commenced on Wednesday, several dozen supporters gathered outside city hall in Paris, chanting "Free Paul Watson" and holding signs that read "A hero doesn't belong in prison" and "Saving whales is not a crime." French officials have previously urged Copenhagen not to extradite him, but have noted that offering asylum is complex as a person must be in France to file a claim.
Japan, Norway, and Iceland are the only three countries that still permit commercial whaling.
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