Greenland court orders anti-whaling activist must remain in custody

A court in Greenland has ruled that veteran environmental activist and anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson must remain in custody as authorities consider Japan’s request for his extradition, police said.

The court ruled that Watson must remain in detention until September 5 to ensure his presence in connection with a decision on extradition, Greenland police said in a statement, adding that Watson has appealed against the decision to Greenland’s High Court.

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

He was arrested last month on an international warrant issued by Japan when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.

Japan’s government then asked Danish authorities to hand over Watson so he could be tried in Japan. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

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

Japan’s government argues whale meat is part of Japan’s food culture and supports the sustainable use of whales.

Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 2019 and has since resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone.

Watson, who left Sea Shepherd in 2022 to set up his own organisation, was also a leading member of Greenpeace, but left in 1977 amid disagreements over his aggressive tactics.