For six weeks, Captain Paul Watson, founder of the NGO Sea Shepherd, has been waiting in a cell in Nuuk prison in Greenland for his fate to be determined. On Wednesday, September 4, the city court will have to decide whether to continue his pretrial detention, already confirmed in a previous hearing on August 15, or whether to release him on parole. The Danish government – to which the territory of Greenland belongs – must also decide whether to continue his pretrial detention, which was confirmed in a previous hearing on August 15. to decide whether to accept Japan’s extradition request. A political decision for which no date has been announced.
At the same time, a demonstration in support of the defender of cetaceans and marine fauna is planned for Wednesday at the Place de la République in Paris. Hervé Berville, the resigned Secretary of State for the Sea and Biodiversity, announced his presence in particular. This summer, The mobilisation in support of the 73-year-old Canadian-American took many forms. Demonstrations were held in several cities in France, his host country on several occasions. Personalities such as naturalist Jane Goodall, star oceanographer Sylvia Earle, actor Pierce Brosnan, director James Cameron, Brigitte Bardot and President Emmanuel Macron have spoken out in his favour. More than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling for his release.
On July 21, Paul Watson was arrested aboard his boat, the John Paul De Joria IIduring a stopover in the port of the Greenlandic capital to refuel. He was arrested and immediately handcuffed due to an international arrest warrant issued against him by Tokyo, which requested his extradition ten days later.
In fact, the Japanese industrial fishing industry has been trying for years to put an end to the activities of the man who repeatedly comes between the whales and their harpoons. In the Archipelago, the white-bearded activist is described as“eco-terrorist”He makes no secret of having sunk two whaling ships in 1986 – empty and at the dock – off Iceland. Such a long hunt inevitably evokes that of Captain Ahab on the trail of Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale, in Herman Melville’s novel. It is clear that whalers have a long memory: the complaint against the activist concerns events that occurred in the Southern Ocean in February 2010 and was forwarded to Interpol in 2012.
Red warning not deactivated
What is he accused of? “Mr Watson is wanted by Japan for criminal prosecution on charges of ‘ship robbery, damage to property, forcible obstruction of business and assault’ in connection with two attacks on Japanese whaling ships.”indicates the Interpol press office requested by The world. Recently, the red notice concerning him had disappeared from the International Criminal Police Organization’s website. That did not mean he was deactivated. “Most Red Notices are for the exclusive use of law enforcement agencies.” Interpol explains, noting that only about 10% of them are made public. In other words, it is not necessary for it to be known that a procedure is applied on the other side of the world, even if it concerns simple crimes, which are also contested.
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