Canadian environmental activist Paul Watson, a staunch opponent of whaling for 50 years, remains in prison. Detained in Nuuk, Greenland, since July 21, he saw his imprisonment extended by 28 days by a judge on Wednesday, September 4. His lawyers announced that they had appealed. A new hearing is scheduled for October 2.
Paul Watson stopped in Nuuk while he was en route with his ship to intercept a new Japanese whaling factory ship. He is accused by that country of having injured a Japanese sailor in the face by throwing a stink bomb – butyric acid – to hinder the work of the whalers. But for the activist’s lawyers, a few seconds of video in their possession proves that the crew member who, according to the Japanese authorities, was injured, was not even present when the stink bomb was thrown on board.
Many supporters
Paul Watson’s many defenders fear above all that Denmark, of which Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory, will grant Japan’s request to have him extradited. He faces a 15-year prison sentence, probably in extreme conditions. Aged 73, the founder of the NGO Sea Shepherd risks ending his life there.
Several media personalities, such as the singer of the metal band Gojira or the journalist Hugo Clément, are mobilizing to demand his release and non-extradition. A rally in support of “Captain Watson” took place in Paris on September 4.
French diplomacy
Behind the scenes, French diplomacy is also active, at the request of the head of state himself. Contacted by Ouest-France, Hervé Berville, the resigning Secretary of State for the Sea, confirmed “having spoken with my Danish counterpart. The French diplomatic unit and the Minister of Foreign Affairs did the same”. What is the content of these discussions? “I cannot reveal them,” adds the Costa Rican MP re-elected in July.
In order to more easily convince Denmark not to accede to Japan’s request, “we are ensuring that the other countries of the European Union join us, to make the competent authorities realize that saving whales is not a crime. Given the knowledge we have about them, we cannot consider that the extradition of Paul Watson is a good signal to meet the challenge of protecting biodiversity,” underlines Hervé Berville.
France is co-organizing, with Costa Rica, the third United Nations Ocean Summit in Nice, in June 2025. A crucial summit in the maritime diplomatic strategy put in place by Emmanuel Macron since 2017. “It would still be a particular signal for a country of the European Union to authorize his extradition,” concludes the Secretary of State.
Denmark Faces a Choice
Sea Shepherd France’s strategy, on the front line to defend its iconic figure, is based on a simple tactic: reminding people, in a series of posts on social media, that Denmark is a state governed by the rule of law, and that it cannot therefore extradite Paul Watson to Japan knowing the fate that awaits him.
But Denmark seems torn by this diplomatic choice. “This case […] is also a test of Denmark’s legal principles and international commitments, because Japan does not have a formal extradition treaty with Denmark, which further complicates the procedure,” recalls the Copenhagen Post, a Danish media outlet published in English.
Whaling is an activity that is decried throughout the world, and only three countries still hunt these cetaceans: Japan, Norway and Iceland. However, Denmark practices a dolphin hunt in the Faroe Islands, called “Grindadrap”. A massacre that Sea Shepherd and Paul Watson have tried to prevent several times, heavily publicizing this controversial practice. Thus, Hugo Clément estimated at the end of August that his arrest in Greenland “is not a coincidence” and that “Denmark is not a neutral country in this story”. The extradition decision constitutes a different procedure from the continued detention of “Captain Watson”. And for the time being, neither Sea Shepherd France, nor his lawyers, nor French diplomacy seem to have any information on its progress.
This article is originally published on ouest-france.fr
