Echos of Assange
Following the life of Paul Watson is akin to reading a long and intricate novel, with moral dilemmas and plot twists in every chapter. We WROTE ABOUT HIM in SWS a year ago. And now on returning from a trip down the east coast of Tasmania, where humpbacks and perhaps blue whales were seen a plenty, I return to “civilisation” to read this.
Sea Shepherd founder Captain Paul Watson to remain in detention in Greenland amid extradition push from Japan
From Our ABC- by James Oaten in Tokyo
Paul Watson was detained in Greenland earlier this year. Image- Kai Pfaffenbach
A court has ordered anti-whaling activist and environmentalist Paul Watson to remain in detention in Greenland, as authorities consider a request from Japan to extradite him on charges dating back more than a decade. The court in Greenland's capital, Nuuk. ordered his detention be extended for a fifth time on Wednesday, local time. The former Sea Shepherd captain and Greenpeace co-founder was arrested in Greenland in July after arriving there to refuel.
The prominent activist led high-profile confrontations against Japanese whaling ships as they slaughtered hundreds of whales each year for "scientific purposes" in the Antarctic Ocean. Japan issued a "red alert" notice with Interpol over an alleged clash between Japanese whaling vessels and Sea Shepherd in 2010. Japan argues Mr Watson ordered the captain of his ship to throw explosives at a whaling vessel.
Sea Shepherd ships regularly pursued whaling vessels, sometimes resulting in clashes. Image Supplied: Sea Shepherd/Simon Ager
A New Zealand citizen was convicted of assault over the incident, and given a suspended prison term, allowing him to leave Japan. Mr Watson's team said he never harmed anyone and operated within the boundaries of the law. Since 2019, Japan abandoned its scientific hunts and conducts commercial whaling operations solely within its own waters. On Wednesday, the court in Nuuk ordered Mr Watson to remain in detention until December 4, Greenland police said, with the next hearing set for December 2. Mr Watson's lawyer, Julie Stage, told the ABC an appeal had been launched against the decision in Greenland's Supreme Court.
"We are disappointed, but I must say it doesn't come as a complete surprise to us given the previous hearings," Ms Stage said. "We don't find that the detention is proportional even if he was guilty of the alleged crimes."
Prosecutor Mariam Khalil said if the extradition wasn't approved, Mr Watson would be released "as soon as possible". The Danish justice ministry has not said when it will announce its decision on Japan's extradition request. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark and does not have an extradition treaty with Japan. Sea Shepherd France, which has supported Mr Watson throughout his time in custody, said the next court date coincided with his 74th birthday.
Japan's whaling program was a common target for the Sea Shepherd group. (AP: Kyodo News, File)
Supporters of Mr Watson fear Japan is seeking revenge, and worry that an extradition there would mean living the rest of his life behind bars. Mr Watson left Sea Shepherd and established his own organisation in 2022, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation. The director of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Haans Siver, said Mr Watson's health had suffered since his arrest. "It's definitely been a really harrowing last few months," Ms Siver said. "He's 72 years old, and he's missing out on his children growing up and their birthdays and missing out on time with his wife. "They downsized his visitation rights and his phone rights, so it really has been hard on his mental health, for sure." Japan has a 99 per cent conviction rate and human rights groups accuse the judiciary of being little more than a rubber stamp for prosecutors.
Ms Siver said Mr Watson believed the red notice had been lifted but accused Japan of reimposing it secretly. She also criticised the Greenland judicial process for prolonging the extradition process. "I think this delay, delay, delay … it's almost a Julian Assange tactic, isn't it?" Earlier this month, Mr Watson applied for political asylum in France.
He has lived in France since 2023 with his two young children and wife.