A Greenlandic court has ordered anti-whaling activist Paul Watson to remain in custody pending a decision on his extradition to Japan.
The veteran activist, who has also appeared on the reality TV show “Whale Wars,” was arrested by police when his ship docked in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, in July.
Their arrest warrants stem from a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant that accused the suspects of damaging a Japanese whaling ship, obstructing its operations and injuring crew members during an encounter with the ship in the Antarctic in February 2010.
Japanese authorities say whaling and eating whale meat are part of Japanese culture and lifestyle, but have faced harsh criticism from environmental groups.
Watson, dressed in jeans and a white shirt, sat next to his lawyer and listened to the proceedings through an interpreter, with several supporters looking on.
“This is revenge for a television show that has very embarrassed Japan in front of the world,” he told the small courtroom.
“What happened in the Southern Ocean has been recorded on hundreds of hours of video,” Watson said.
“Once we review all the videos and all the documents, I believe we will be able to exonerate myself.”
However, prosecutors argued that the defendant was a flight risk, and the judge concluded that he should be detained until October 2nd.
Paul Watson is the former president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society before leaving the organization in 2022 to set up the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.
He was a founding member of Greenpeace but parted ways with it in 1977 due to differences over its extreme tactics.
The 73-year-old Canadian-American activist is a controversial figure known for clashing with whaling ships at sea.
Watson’s ship, M/Y John Paul DeJoria, was heading for the North Pacific with 26 volunteers on board to intercept a new Japanese whaling ship that had arrived in Nuuk on July 21 to refuel.
He was arrested, handcuffed and taken away, where he has been held in a local jail for the last seven weeks.
His legal team has appealed to Greenland’s High Court against the decision to keep him in custody.
Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory and while a court in Nuuk oversees the detention hearing, the final decision on Watson’s extradition rests with Danish authorities in Copenhagen.
Last month, Japan asked Denmark to extradite Paul Watson, even though the two countries do not have an extradition treaty.
Nuuk police are conducting an investigation and will submit their findings to the Danish Ministry of Justice, which is expected to issue a ruling within the next few weeks.
“This is a serious case which requires serious consideration. If we have to extradite Mr Watson it will have serious implications for him and that is why I will take the time necessary to respond appropriately,” Greenland’s chief prosecutor Mariam Khalil told the BBC.
At the defense’s request, the judge allowed the playing of a video clip that appeared to show a Zodiac-style speedboat approaching the Japanese vessel and setting off a stink bomb.
But Watson’s lawyers argue that a second video clip, which was not released, proves that no one was on deck at the time.
“There is video footage of the stink bombs being fired at the ship, but no crew members are in the positions where the Japanese claim they should be,” Jonas Kristoffersen told the BBC.
“There is no evidentiary basis for the allegation that anyone was injured.”
Interpol, the Lyon-based international police agency, confirmed the existence of an outstanding red notice for Watson’s arrest.
In 2012, Paul Watson was also detained in Germany but left the country after learning that Japan was seeking his extradition.
Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Masashi Mizobuchi told the BBC that Japan had not yet received any response from Danish authorities.
Mizobuchi said, “We will continue to take appropriate measures, including making necessary efforts to appeal to relevant countries and organizations.”
Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission and resumed commercial whaling in 2019 after a 30-year hiatus, but continued to hunt whales for what it claims are research purposes.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has urged Denmark not to extradite Paul Watson, and legendary actress-turned-animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has been a vocal supporter.
Meanwhile, a petition calling for Watson’s release has garnered more than 120,000 signatures.