Anti-hunting activist Paul Watson will remain in detention in Greenland while Denmark decides whether to extradite him to Japan, police in the autonomous Danish territory said on Wednesday.
The 73-year-old American-Canadian, founder of the environmental group Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, was detained by police when his ship docked in Nuuk port on July 21.
Mr. Watson will remain in custody until December 4, police said in a statement.
“It's unfortunately as expected, but we obviously don't agree with the decision,” said Julie Stage, Mr. Watson's lawyer, adding that she and his other lawyers had appealed the decision. Greenlandic court.
Japan issued an international arrest warrant more than a decade ago, seeking Watson for breaking into a Japanese ship in the Antarctic Ocean in 2010, obstructing its activities and causing injury and property damage.
Watson, who denies all charges against him, faces up to 15 years in prison if extradited to Japan and sentenced there, his lawyers said.
On Wednesday, the Danish Justice Ministry referred to a comment it made in October, when it said it had received statements from the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Greenland Police, both of whom investigated the Watson affair.
“The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing the extradition request and the two statements, and it is on this basis that it will make a decision on the case,” the ministry said.
