World Courant
A Greenland court docket has dominated that anti-whaling activist Paul Watson should stay in custody pending a choice to extradite him to Japan.
The veteran campaigner, who appeared on the fact present “Whale Wars,” was arrested by police in July when his ship docked in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
They had been appearing on a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant accusing him of inflicting injury to a Japanese whaling ship, obstructing its operations and injuring a crew member throughout an encounter in Antarctic waters in February 2010.
Officers in Japan declare that whaling and consuming whale meat are a part of the nation’s tradition and lifestyle, but it surely has been closely criticized by conservation teams.
Wearing denims and a white shirt, Mr Watson sat subsequent to his legal professionals and listened to the listening to by way of an interpreter as a number of of his supporters appeared on.
“That is about revenge for a tv present that has tremendously embarrassed Japan within the eyes of the world,” he advised the small courtroom.
“What occurred within the Southern Ocean is captured in a whole bunch of hours of video,” Watson stated.
“I consider a assessment of all of the movies and all of the documentation will exonerate me of the costs.”
Nonetheless, the Public Prosecution Service said that the suspect posed a threat of flight and the decide dominated that he ought to stay in custody till October 2.
Paul Watson is the previous director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which he left in 2022 to discovered the Captain Paul Watson Basis.
He was additionally a founding member of Greenpeace, however they cut up in 1977 over disagreements over his radical ways.
The 73-year-old Canadian-American campaigner is a controversial determine identified for his confrontations with whalers at sea.
Mr. Watson’s ship, the M/Y John Paul DeJoria, was en path to the North Pacific with a crew of 26 volunteers aboard. The ship was on a mission to intercept a brand new Japanese whaling ship when it stopped in Nuuk to refuel on July 21.
He was arrested and brought away in handcuffs. He has been within the native jail for the previous seven weeks.
His protection staff has appealed the choice to maintain him in custody to Greenland’s Supreme Court docket.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark and whereas the court docket in Nuuk oversees custody hearings, the choice on Mr Watson’s extradition lies with the Danish authorities in Copenhagen.
Final month, Japan requested Denmark to extradite Paul Watson, although there was no extradition treaty between the 2 international locations.
The Nuuk police are conducting an investigation and can hand over their findings to the Danish Ministry of Justice. A call is anticipated inside a couple of weeks.
“It’s a severe matter and it must be thought of severely. It’ll have a profound impression on Mr Watson if we get to the purpose the place he needs to be extradited. So I’ll take the time I have to get it proper,” Mariam Khalil, Greenland’s chief prosecutor, advised the BBC.
On the request of the protection, the decide allowed a video clip to be performed exhibiting a speedboat much like a zodiac passing a Japanese ship and launching a stink bomb.
Nonetheless, Mr Watson’s legal professionals argue {that a} second video clip, which was not proven, proves there was nobody on deck on the time.
“We now have video footage of a stink bomb being fired on the ship, and the place the Japanese declare the sailor must be in is just not there,” Jonas Christoffersen advised the BBC.
“There is no such thing as a proof in any respect to assist the declare that anybody was injured.”
The worldwide police organisation Interpol, primarily based in Lyon, has confirmed {that a} purple warrant has been issued for Mr Watson’s arrest.
In 2012, Paul Watson was additionally held in Germany, however he left the nation after studying that Japan needed to extradite him.
Masashi Mizobuchi, assistant spokesman for the Japanese International Ministry, advised the BBC that Japan has not but obtained a response from Danish authorities.
“We are going to proceed to take applicable measures, together with mandatory data to related international locations and organizations,” Mr Mizobuchi stated.
Japan withdrew from the Worldwide Whaling Fee and resumed industrial whaling in 2019 after a 30-year hiatus. Nonetheless, it continued whaling for what it referred to as analysis functions.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s workplace has requested Denmark to not extradite Paul Watson. Legendary actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has additionally voiced her assist.
In the meantime, a petition calling for Mr Watson’s launch has garnered greater than 120,000 signatures.
Anti-whaling activist to stay in Greenland jail
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