“In principle, an asylum request can only be made on the soil of the country in which this request is made,” declared Jean-Noël Barrot on France Inter, believing that in current conditions, it was “difficult for him to answer “. Incarcerated in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, this 73-year-old American-Canadian requested political asylum from France on Wednesday in a letter sent to President Emmanuel Macron. Asked whether he was implying that asylum would not be granted to him, Jean-Noël Barrot reiterated the same argument, without taking a position.
“We are happy that the government is sensitive to the cry from the heart of our client in this moving letter that he spontaneously addressed to President Macron,” reacted to AFP Me Jean Tamalet, coordinator of the defense team by Paul Watson. “We continue to work so that the Danish Minister of Justice understands that the only humanly and legally valid decision is to waive the extradition of our client and immediately release him,” added the lawyer.
On Thursday, the French government spokesperson indicated that the asylum request of Paul Watson, founder of the NGO Sea Shepherd, was “not decided”. Under an extradition request from Japan, Paul Watson has been detained in Greenland for three months. In his letter to the French head of state, published by Sea Shepherd France on social networks, the environmentalist asserts that Japan is “persecuting” him for “political and not judicial” reasons.
He is accused by Tokyo of being co-responsible for damage and injuries on board a Japanese whaling ship as part of a campaign led by Sea Shepherd in 2010. Several French political figures supported the environmental activist’s request.
France
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