Greenland to rule on anti-whaling activist Watson's detention / Photo: © AFP
Greenland to rule on anti-whaling activist Watson's detention
American-Canadian anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, arrested in July in Greenland, goes before a judge Thursday who will rule on his continued detention pending his possible extradition to Japan.
"The extradition request concerning Watson is based on facts that are plainly wrong," Julie Stage, one of the 73-year-old activist's lawyers, told AFP ahead of the 9:00 am (1000 GMT) hearing.
The defence team is therefore seeking Watson's immediate release.
The district court in Nuuk -- the capital of the autonomous Danish territory -- will rule whether there is cause to extend his detention for up to another four weeks.
"The conditions for remanding him in custody are not satisfied. I do not think that there is reason to suspect him for the offences with which he is charged" in Japan, Stage said.
Watson, who featured in the reality TV series "Whale Wars", founded Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF), and is known for radical tactics including confrontations with whaling ships at sea.
The campaigner was arrested on July 21 when the ship John Paul DeJoria docked in Nuuk to refuel.
The vessel was on its way to "intercept" a new Japanese whaling factory vessel in the North Pacific, according to the CPWF.
Watson was arrested on the basis of a 2012 Interpol "Red Notice" after Japan accused him of causing damage to one of its whaling ships in the Antarctic two years earlier and causing injury.
In 2010, a Japanese court convicted another Sea Shepherd activist present at the time, Peter Bethune of New Zealand, handing a two-year suspended sentence.
Like Bethune, Watson is accused of injuring a Japanese crew member with a stink bomb intended to disrupt the whalers' activities.
- 'Whale Wars' footage -
"We have video footage which proves that the crew member that the Japanese authorities claim was injured was not even present when the stink bomb was thrown," said Stage, who pored over footage aired in the "Whale Wars" series.
She said he could only have been injured by tear gas the whaling crew threw at the activists, because the crew was not on deck when the stink bomb was thrown.
"The hearing on August 15, 2024 will ... not deal with the question of whether or not to extradite him," Greenland police said in a statement.
But as far as the defence is concerned, "these videos show that Japan is making up facts to obtain extradition and conviction," Stage said.
The decision about Watson's extradition will be taken independently.
Greenland police must first decide whether there is a basis for extradition, after which the Danish justice ministry will decide whether to proceed with an extradition.
It is not yet known when those decisions will be announced.
- 'Presumption of guilt' -
Francois Zimeray, another one of Watson's lawyers, said Watson would not get a fair trial in Japan.
"This case has nothing to do with the facts," he told AFP.
"This is a question of vengeance from the Japanese legal system and Japanese authorities," he said.
"In Japan, there is a presumption of guilt," he said, adding: "Prosecutors are proud to announce that they have a 99.6 percent conviction rate."
Watson's supporters say he would not survive an extradition.
Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd's French branch, told AFP Japan would not be lenient, and given his age he would likely spend the rest of his life incarcerated.
"If he is extradited to Japan, he won't get out alive", she said.
Watson's arrest has sparked a series of protests calling for his release.
French President Emmanuel Macron's office has asked Denmark not to extradite the activist, who has lived in France for the past year.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has yet to comment on the case.
C.Aguilar--ESF
