Anti-whaling activist Watson stays in detention in Greenland while Danes consider Japanese request

A court in Greenland has again decided to extend the custody of anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson, until Dec. 4, while Denmark considers a Japanese extradition request

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A court in Greenland again decided Wednesday to extend the custody of anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson, until Dec. 4, while Denmark considers a Japanese extradition request.

Japan does not have an extradition treaty with the Scandinavian country. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark and handles police and justice matters.

Watson, a 73-year-old Canadian-American citizen, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Its direct-action tactics, including high-seas confrontations with whaling vessels, have drawn support from A-list celebrities and were featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars.”

Watson was arrested on July 21 when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. A Greenland court has repeatedly approved his detention while Danish authorities look into his possible extradition to Japan, where he faces up to 15 years in prison, according to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.

“It is not fair that Watson should be detained in a case that should have been concluded a long time ago,” said Watson’s lawyer, Finn Meinel, according to the Greenland newspaper Sermitsiaq.

Japan’s coast guard sought his arrest over an encounter with a Japanese whaling research ship in 2010. Watson was accused of obstructing the crew’s official duties by ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the research ship.

Sermitsiaq quoted Watson as telling the court that “no one was injured then. It is totally ridiculous,” and that “Japan is a criminal nation, and Denmark supports the country.”

Prosecutor Mariam Khalil earlier said there was a flight risk and an extension of the custody was needed.

Sea Shepherd France has said that Watson asked France’s president for political asylum.