Greenland extends detention of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson

RFI

2 October 2024 at 11:54 am·2-min read

A Greenland court on Wednesday extended the detention of Canadian-American environmental activist Paul Watson for three more weeks, pending a decision on his extradition to Japan, where he is wanted over a clash with whalers.

For the third time since the 73-year-old campaigner's arrest in late July in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, prosecutors had asked that his detention be extended, as the legal review of Japan's extradition request drags on.

"The court in Greenland has today decided that Paul Watson shall continue to be detained until 23 October, 2024 in order to ensure his presence in connection with the decision on extradition," police said in statement.

"Unfortunately, no, it's not a surprise. The court has not changed its stance" Watson's lawyer, Julie Stage, told French news agency AFP, adding they had appealed the decision.

Stage also said that they had also been granted the possibility of presenting their appeals of the previous detention ruling to Denmark's Supreme Court.

"This is all based on a false accusation by a criminal enterprise, the Japanese whaling industry," Watson himself said as he arrived at the courthouse in Nuuk.

Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was arrested on 21 July when his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, docked to refuel in Nuuk on its way to "intercept" a new Japanese whaling factory vessel in the North Pacific, according to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).

But the Nuuk court has refused to view the footage, arguing that the hearings are solely about his detention and not the question of guilt.

(with AFP)

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