(Copenhagen) The Greenlandic courts are to rule on Thursday on the continued detention of American-Canadian environmental activist Paul Watson, arrested in Nuuk, the capital of the autonomous Danish territory, and whose extradition is requested by Japan.
“The extradition request […] “is based on entirely false facts,” Julie Stage, a lawyer for Mr Watson, told AFP.
The defense of the 73-year-old activist, founder of Sea Shepherd and the foundation that bears his name for the oceans, considers his continued detention to be disproportionate and is calling for his release.
If the Nuuk court does not grant the request, it may order the pre-trial detention to be extended by up to four weeks.
“The conditions for his pretrial detention have not been met. I do not think there is reason to suspect him of the facts he is accused of” in Japan, argued Mr.me Internship.
Paul Watson, who has been living in France for over a year, was arrested on his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, after it had docked in Nuuk.
The ship was refueling in preparation for “intercepting” Japan’s new whaling factory ship in the North Pacific, according to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).
The arrest was made on the basis of an Interpol red notice issued in 2012, when Japan accused him of being jointly responsible for damage and injuries on board a Japanese whaling vessel two years earlier as part of a campaign led by Sea Shepherd.
Stink bomb
In 2010, a New Zealander, Peter Bethune, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended, in this case.
Like Mr Bethune, Paul Watson is accused of having injured a Japanese sailor in the face by throwing a stink bomb – butyric acid – to hinder the work of the whalers.
“We have video that proves that the crew member who, according to Japanese authorities, was injured was not even present when the stink bomb was thrown” on board, said the lawyer, who has studied episodes of the documentary series “Mercado” on Sea Shepherd’s actions.
She believes the sailor could only have been injured by the spray used on the activists by the crew, who had left the deck at the time the stink bomb was released.me Stage will present this evidence at the hearing on Thursday, although the Nuuk court will then decide exclusively on whether or not to keep the activist in prison.
“The hearing on August 15, 2024 will therefore not address the issue of extradition,” the police wrote in a statement.
The decision on extradition, which ultimately rests with the Danish Ministry of Justice, is to be taken independently on a date that has not been made public.
For the defense, “these videos show that Japan is inventing facts to obtain the extradition and conviction” of Paul Watson, Mr.me Internship, denouncing a new sign of the fallibility of the Japanese judicial system.
“Presumption of guilt”
This case “is about revenge on the part of the Japanese legal system and the Japanese authorities,” said another of Mr. Watson’s lawyers, Francois Zimeray. The human rights expert said that in “Japan, there is a presumption of guilt.”
“Prosecutors are proud to announce that they have a 99.6% conviction rate,” he lamented.
Paul Watson’s supporters are determined to avoid his extradition. “If he is extradited to Japan, he will not come out alive,” said the president of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali.
The arrest and detention of the environmental activist has sparked widespread mobilisation across the world. A petition calling for his release has so far gathered more than 62,000 signatures.
The French presidency has asked the Danish authorities not to extradite him.
The hearing is scheduled for 6 a.m. ET on Thursday.