The end of a long legal drama. Denmark decided on Tuesday not to extradite environmental activist Paul Watson to Japan. He will therefore be released during the day, his lawyer told AFP.
“He is free, the Ministry of Justice has just informed us that it has rejected the extradition request,” said his lawyer Julie Stage, specifying that Paul Watson would be able to leave Nuuk prison, in Greenland, where he was in custody. pre-trial detention for almost five months.
“Paul is free!!! »
The NGO Sea Shepherd France, which has supported Paul Watson since the start of his detention, welcomed this decision on X: “Paul is free!!! “, simply reacted the NGO. Same reaction from the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.
Many French environmentalist deputies commented on the announcement of this release on Denmark. Collective mobilization paid off. Bravo to Sea Shepherd and all the citizens who continued to mobilize for him. This is your victory! “.
The Danish court first based its refusal on “the total duration of Paul Watson’s detention after his arrest, on July 21, 2024, and until a possible extradition decision can be executed”, specifies the Danish court. court decision. The court also argued “that the acts for which extradition is requested date back more than 14 years, as well as [sur] of the nature of acts in general.
The legal fight is not over
“Japan tried to silence a man whose only crime is to have denounced the illegality of the industrial massacre disguised as scientific research,” reacted to AFP another of its lawyers, Me François Zimeray.
However, the legal “fight” is not over for Paul Watson, at least for his lawyers. In a press release that 20 Minutes consulted, Jean Tamalet, lawyer from the King & Spalding firm, assures that we must “now attack the Red Notice and the Japanese arrest warrant, in order to be certain that Captain Paul Watson can once again travel anywhere in the world “.
