The Greenlandic courts decided on August 15 to keep in detention the American-Canadian environmental activist Paul Watson, whose extradition Japan is requesting in a case linked to his fight for the defense of whales.
Extradition request examined
“The Greenland Court today ruled that Paul Watson will be held in custody until 5 September 2024 to ensure his presence at the time of the extradition decision.“, the date of which has not been made public, police announced in a statement. Japan requested his extradition on July 31 from the Danish Ministry of Justice. In an email sent to AFP on Thursday, Minister Peter Hummelgaard assured that “the exam“of this one was”currently in progress“.
The 73-year-old activist’s defense, which requested his release, considered his continued detention disproportionate, more than three weeks after his arrest on July 21 in Nuuk, the capital of the autonomous Danish territory. It appealed the court’s decision. As he left the Nuuk courthouse, just before getting into a police van, Paul Watson told AFP that his continued detention increased pressure on Japan to put an end to “its illegal whaling activities“.
“Scandalous”
Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd and the ocean foundation that bears his name, who had been living in France for more than a year, was arrested on his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, after it docked. The ship was refueling in preparation for “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 vessel two years earlier as part of a campaign led by Sea Shepherd.The court refused to look at video evidence from the Whales Wars series (which followed Sea Shepherd’s activities) that shows the Japanese fabricated evidence, because they are not interested.“, the president of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali, lamented to AFP.At the end of the hearing, Paul said that his two little boys needed him more than Japan needed his revenge.“, she explained. The activist spoke in English but was not allowed an interpreter, noted Ms. Essemlali.”We find it absolutely scandalous. It’s not normal at all, we didn’t understand anything.” she said.
In 2010, a New Zealander, Peter Bethune, was already sentenced in this case to two years in prison, suspended. Like the latter, Paul Watson is accused of having injured the face of a Japanese sailor by throwing a stink bomb – butyric acid – to hinder the work of the whalers.
Mr Watson’s lawyer, Julie Stage, said the video material proved that “The crew member who Japanese authorities say was injured was not even present when the stink bomb was released” on board. In 2010, during Mr. Bethune’s trial, these extracts were not taken into account by the Japanese justice system. The sailor could only have been injured because of the spray used towards the activists by the crew, who at the time of the launch of the stink bomb had left the deck, argues the defense.
“Presumption of guilt”
“These videos show Japan fabricating facts to obtain extradition and conviction“Paul Watson’s case,” Ms. Stage stressed, denouncing a new sign of the fallibility of the Japanese judicial system. This case “is a matter of revenge on the part of the Japanese legal system and the Japanese authorities“, said another of Mr. Watson’s lawyers, François Zimeray. The human rights specialist says that “Japan, there is a presumption of guilt“. “Prosecutors are proud to announce that they have a 99.6% conviction rate.” he lamented.
