the detention of the environmentalist in Greenland extended until December 4

The detention of whale defender Paul Watson, arrested at the end of July in Greenland due to an extradition request from Japan, has been extended until December 4, the Greenland police announced in a press release on Wednesday. “The Greenland court today ruled that Paul Watson will be kept in custody until December 4, 2024 to ensure his presence in the extradition process”indicated the police, who specified that the next hearing will be held on December 2.

The 73-year-old American-Canadian activist, who recently applied for French nationality, was arrested on July 21 in Nuuk, capital of Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. He was en route with his ship the John Paul DeJoria to intercept a new Japanese whaling factory ship. It is in another case relating to whaling, dating back to 2010, that Japan requests his extradition.

The Nuuk court's decision, the fifth in this direction since the arrest of the Sea Shepherd founder, was expected. Mr Watson appealed to the Greenland Court of Appeal. Previous pre-trial detention decisions are subject to a different appeal procedure, before the Supreme Court of Denmark. “As time goes by, the feeling of injustice grows more and more”noted Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, before the hearing.

Waiting for the Danish decision

The Danish Ministry of Justice, which recently received opinions from the Greenland police and the Directorate General of the Prosecutor's Office on the extradition request, did not indicate when it would issue its decision. “The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing the extradition request and the two recommendations, and it is on this basis that it will make a decision in this case”he wrote to AFP.

If he were to refuse extradition, “there would be no further grounds for detention and (Paul Watson) would be released as soon as possible after this decision is brought to the attention of the Greenland police”explained the prosecutor in charge of the case. Otherwise, his defenders would appeal. Founder of Sea Shepherd and the foundation for the oceans that bears his name, Paul Watson is a personality known for his punchy actions.

Japan, which relaunched a request issued in 2012 via an Interpol red notice, accuses it of being co-responsible for damage and injuries on board a Japanese whaling ship two years earlier as part of a campaign led by Sea Shepherd. In detail, the activist is being prosecuted for injuries which, according to the prosecution, were inflicted on February 11, 2010 on a sailor from the Shonan Maru 2 by a powerful stink ball containing butyric acid, and for the collision of the same ship four days later. In mid-September, his lawyers contacted the United Nations Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders, denouncing in particular the risk he runs of “undergo inhumane treatment (…) in Japanese jails”. According to them, this offense is not punishable by prison under Greenlandic law, which the Nuuk public prosecutor's office disputes.

In a rare comment on this affair, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya estimated in early October that his country's extradition request was a matter of “law enforcement” rather than whaling. Paul Watson hopes to return to France, where he has lived since July 2023 and where his young children go to school. His setbacks aroused the support of part of public opinion and other activists. British primatologist Jane Goodall called on the French president to grant asylum to the American-Canadian. Japan is, along with Norway and Iceland, one of the last three countries in the world to practice commercial whaling.