A hearing at a Greenlandic court will today decide whether the well-known Canadian-American environmental activist Paul Watson, co -founder of Greenpeace, will continue to be held in custody with a view to extradition to Japan, which has had an international arrest warrant on him since 2010.
Watson, who also founded the activist conservation group Sea Shepherd, had docked his ship in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk when he was arrested on 21 July for anti-whaling activities in Antarctica in 2010.
Watson himself does not want to be extradited, and his lawyers believe it would be a breach of EU conventions.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation, another organisation founded by the 73-year-old activist, responded in July that it was “completely shocked” by the arrest, “as the Red Notice had disappeared a few months ago”.
“We implore the Danish government to release Captain Watson and not entertain this politically-motivated request”, stated Locky MacLean, Ship Operation’s Director for CPWF in a press release.
In the three weeks since the arrest, the case has attracted close international attention.
Several celebrities and political figures have voiced their support for Watson, including French President Emmanuel Macron, whose office issued an official statement urging Danish authorities not to extradite the prominent environmentalist, according to Le Monde.
Actor Pierce Brosnan published a widely-circulated letter to the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen imploring her to “consider saving Paul Watson’s life”.
The hashtag #FreePaulWatson emerged on X, and the French actor turned animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot – a longtime patron of Watson’s work – told Le Parisien that he was “caught in a trap” and that the Japanese government had “launched a global manhunt”.
The hearing to decide whether Watson remains in custody will take place at Sermersooq Circuit Court this afternoon.
