(Copenhagen) Arrested on July 21 in Greenland and imprisoned since then, the American-Canadian environmental activist Paul Watson, whose extradition is requested by Japan, is to be presented Thursday to a judge in Nuuk, the capital of the autonomous Danish territory, who will decide on his continued detention.
“The district court must decide whether there are reasons to extend the detention period by up to four more weeks,” the prosecution wrote in a statement.
“The hearing of August 15, 2024 will therefore not focus on the question of extradition or not,” he specified.
The decision on extradition, which is ultimately the responsibility of the Danish Ministry of Justice, must be taken independently of this hearing. However, it will be discussed at the hearing, his lawyers explained.
“We can start by saying that a person should be detained during the extradition procedure, because otherwise he or she might leave the country,” Jonas Christoffersen said at a press conference.
However, during the hearing, he intends to address in particular the proportionality of the detention in the face of the offence of which Mr Watson is suspected, considered to be minor by his lawyers.
“We will argue that the past three weeks are more than enough and that [la détention] does not need to be extended further,” he added.
Paul Watson, who has been living in France for a year, was arrested on his ship which had just docked in Nuuk, Greenland, to refuel in preparation for “intercepting” Japan’s new whaling factory ship in the North Pacific.
The arrest was made on the basis of an Interpol red notice issued in 2012, when Japan accused him of being responsible for damage and injuries on board a Japanese whaling ship two years earlier in the Antarctic Ocean.
“The reason he stopped in Greenland is because the Interpol red notice had not been on the site since last year,” one of his main supporters, the president of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali, told AFP.
“Now, there is an arrest warrant that was not public and that was issued by Japan to Denmark last March,” she added. “All of this was orchestrated. There were still 14 federal police officers and a Danish public prosecutor who were put on a direct plane to Greenland to arrest Paul.”
“He won’t come out alive”
In Japan, the 73-year-old activist faces a prison sentence of more than 15 years and a fine of up to 500,000 yen (about 4,600 Canadian dollars). The country formally requested his extradition from Danish authorities in late July. For his supporters, this extradition would be fatal.
“We absolutely want to avoid this extradition to Japan, because we know that if he is extradited to Japan, he will not come out alive,” assured Mr.me Essemlali.
“In Japan, there is a presumption of guilt and prosecutors are proud to announce that they have a 99.6% conviction rate,” lamented one of Mr. Watson’s lawyers, François Zimeray, denouncing “political harpooning.”
The arrest and detention of the environmental activist gave rise to a large mobilisation and the French presidency asked the Danish authorities not to extradite him.
In Denmark, more than a hundred people gathered on Monday to demand his release. A petition was also sent to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who has not yet publicly commented on the case.
France “must not remain alone” in defending the activist, insisted the president of Sea Shepherd France. “It is important that other countries [la] join”.
Japan, Norway and Iceland are the last countries still practicing commercial whaling. For French cinema legend Brigitte Bardot, committed to the animal cause, “these are the three countries that are breaking the law […] “Not Paul,” she said in a rare telephone interview with LCI. The hearing is scheduled for 6 a.m. ET Thursday.