Captain Paul Watson has been told by a Danish court in Greenland that because he is considered a flight-risk he must remain in jail – but supporters say that the veteran anti-whaling campaigner has been “denied the basic right to defend himself with evidence, while enduring degrading treatment that is more fitting for a convicted criminal than a man yet to have his day in court”.
Watson was arrested when his ship John Paul DeJoria stopped to refuel in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, on 21 July, as previously reported on Divernet. He has remained in a remote detention centre ever since.
With his crew and 25 volunteers he had been heading for the North Pacific on his campaign to intercept Japan’s latest factory whaling ship, the Kangei Maru.
Denmark had said that the arrest accorded with an international warrant issued by Japan against Watson for his campaign against its whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. If Denmark’s Ministry of Justice complies with Japan’s formal request for Watson’s extradition, he could face a long prison sentence there.
Watson was brought to the court hearing in handcuffs that, in a video made by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF), appeared to be causing him pain. Although the hearing was held in Danish, Watson was said to have been denied the services of an interpreter, in contravention of Danish law.
“It's obvious to me that Japan is seeking revenge for the international humiliation caused by the Whale Wars TV series, reporting our actions against illegal whaling,” Watson said in a statement to the court. “But my two little boys need me more than Japan needs its revenge.”
Whale Wars was produced by Animal Planet and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, of which Watson was founder and CEO, to chronicle their activism against Japanese whaling expeditions. It ran for six seasons from 2008 and can still be seen on streaming services.
The judge was said to have refused to allow the court to view clips from the series alleging that the Japanese had fabricated evidence against Watson.
“This evidence, if allowed, could significantly undermine the case being brought by the Japanese authorities,” says the CPWF, but the judge stated that the court was considering only the extradition request, not underlying charges.
Watson’s legal team lodged an immediate appeal against the judge’s verdict that Watson should remain in prison until 5 September, while Denmark’s Justice Department determined whether he should be extradited.
Collision and sinking
The warrant for Watson's arrest appears to revolve around a well-publicised incident in the Antarctic Ocean in early 2010 when he was running Sea Shepherd, an organisation with which he is no longer connected.
Sea Shepherd trimaran the Ady Gil, skippered by New Zealand anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune, had been involved in a collision with the Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru 2. The incident ended with the Ady Gil sinking while under tow.
Bethune had later boarded the Shonan Maru 2 to accuse its captain of attempted murder and bill him for the loss of the Ady Gil, and was charged with throwing the contents of a bottle of butyric acid – likened to a stink-bomb – over a crew-member.
Bethune later claimed that he had orchestrated the sinking of the Ady Gil on Watson’s orders to garner publicity, an allegation denied by Watson.
After spending five months in jail in Japan, Bethune was convicted of assault and obstructing whaling ships but had his two-year prison sentence suspended and was deported. Watson, the man he was said to have implicated, was listed by Interpol as a person of interest.
“The allegations against Paul Watson are based on facts constructed by Japanese authorities to stop Paul Watson’s campaign,” stated the captain’s lawyers Julie Stage and Jonas Christoffersen in the Greenland court.
“Paul Watson is accused of conspiring with Peter Bethune to injure a crew-member of the Shonan Maru, who the Japanese claim was on the deck of the ship when the stink-bomb hit the ship.
“Video shows the crew-member was not on deck when the stink-bomb hit the ship, contrary to Japanese claims. What the images also show is that the Japanese had, a short time earlier, used large quantities of pepper gas, which touched their own crew in the face.
“These videos show Japan made up facts to obtain extradition and conviction. Our team will be releasing Animal Planet videos, so the public can understand what this case is really about.”
Tightening the loophole
Japan’s Antarctic “scientific research” whaling programme continued operating in breach of an International Court of Justice ruling until 2016. It continues to hunt whales in its own waters, and the foundation is concerned that it intends to resume operations in southern waters.
“At the 2016 International Whaling Commission meeting, Australia led the charge with a landmark resolution, approved by 88 nations, aimed at tightening the loophole that allows nations to kill whales under the pretext of scientific research,” says the CPWF.
“While the IWC has made strides in closing this loophole, it still exists. Tragically, over 15,000 whales have been hunted by Japan in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters under the guise of research.”
Some 69,000 people have now signed a CPWF petition calling on Denmark to order Paul Watson’s release.
Also on Divernet: PAUL WATSON JAILED AS JAPANESE KILL FIN WHALE, PAUL WATSON CLEARED IN COSTA RICA
