(Paris) The spokesperson for the French government assured Thursday that the question of granting political asylum to Paul Watson, environmental activist and founder of the NGO Sea Shepherd, was “not decided today”.
Published at 6:51 a.m.
Incarcerated in Greenland, this 73-year-old American-Canadian requested political asylum from France on Wednesday in a letter sent to President Emmanuel Macron.
“It is not decided today”, indicated the spokesperson, Maud Bregeon, at the microphone of Sud Radio, specifying that she herself had “a deep respect and a lot of admiration for the cause that he carried.”
Under an extradition request from Japan, Paul Watson has been detained for three months in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. In his letter to the French head of state, published by Sea Shepherd France on social networks, the environmentalist claims that Japan is “persecuting” him for “political and not judicial” reasons.
He is accused by Tokyo of being co-responsible for damage and injuries aboard a Japanese whaling ship as part of a campaign led by Sea Shepherd in 2010.
Several French political figures supported Paul Watson’s request. Socialist Olivier Faure described it as an “honour” that Paul Watson requested political asylum, adding that “Emmanuel Macron (should) accept it”.
“Yes, France must give political asylum to Paul Watson whose only crime is to mobilize to defend the living,” also reacted Manuel Bompard, one of the leaders of the radical left party La France Insoumise (LFI) .
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