Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson will remain in jail for at least another month while he waits to hear whether he will be extradited from Greenland to Japan.
The Danish court that was examining his case on Wednesday decided to extend his detention until October 2 to “search for more evidence”, as reported by the organization founded by the environmentalist, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.
Watson’s lawyers will appeal the decision because, they say, “there is insufficient evidence to keep him in prison.” They also complained that while the court was able to review the video footage submitted by Japan, “our footage has not yet been admitted into the proceedings.”
Watson was arrested when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland, on July 21, on the basis of an arrest warrant from Japan sent to Interpol. The Asian country accuses him of attacking a Japanese whaling ship in 2010 while it was hunting whales in the Antarctic. The charges against him could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Since Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Danish state, it is up to the Nordic country to handle the extradition request. French President Emmanuel Macron (Watson’s home country) has called for the activist’s release.
