Greenlandic court extends detention of whale activist Paul Watson until September 5

He remains in prison. The Nuuk (Greenland) court decided on Thursday, August 15, to keep in detention until September 5 the American-Canadian environmental activist Paul Watson, whose extradition Japan is requesting in a case linked to his fight for the defense of whales.

The court says it wants this “ensure” the presence of Paul Watson “at the time of the extradition decision”the date of which has not been made public, police announced in a statement. The founder of the NGO Sea Shepherd, The 73-year-old has appealed, police said.

“It is unacceptable that we were not allowed to present the evidence in courtreacted on X his lawyers, Julie Stage and Jonas Christoffersen. It is also unacceptable that there was no interpreter in court who could speak English. We also find it unacceptable that our client is being treated like a dangerous criminal, transported in handcuffs.”

Paul Watson, who has been living in France for over a year, was arrested on July 21 on his ship, the John Paul DeJoriaas it had just docked in Nuuk. The ship was refueling in view “to intercept” 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 ship two years earlier as part of a campaign led by Sea Shepherd.