A court in Greenland decided on Wednesday that environmental activist Paul Watson will remain in detention until 4 December, pending the Danish government's decision on a request from Japan for his extradition in connection with his fight for the protection of whales.
‘The Greenland court has today decided that Paul Watson will remain in detention until 4 December 2024 in order to ensure his presence in the extradition process’, the police said in a statement, adding that “for practical reasons,” the next hearing on his detention will be held on 2 December.
The 73-year-old American-Canadian activist, who recently applied for French nationality, was arrested on 21 July in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. He was en route with his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, to intercept a new Japanese whaling factory ship.
Japan is seeking his extradition in connection with another whaling case dating back to 2010.
The Nuuk court's decision, the fifth of its kind since the arrest of the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, had been eagerly awaited. Mr Watson has appealed to the Greenland Court of Appeal.
The previous provisional detention decisions are subject to a different appeal procedure, before the Supreme Court of Denmark.
The Danish Ministry of Justice, which recently received advice from the Greenland police and the Directorate General of Public Prosecutions on the extradition request, has not indicated when it will make its decision.
