Paul Watson: telephone, isolation… His increasingly harsh conditions of detention

Paul Watson has been imprisoned for several months awaiting release decision on his potential extradition to Japan. A new request for release is being examined this Wednesday.

This Wednesday, the Greenlandic courts will decide whether or not to keep Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, in detention. A new hearing will be held, concerning a third request for release filed by the detainee's lawyers, while the public prosecutor is requesting an extension of his period behind bars. The 73-year-old activist was arrested on July 21 in Nuuk while he was trying to intercept a Japanese whaling factory ship with his boat.

In detention, Paul Watson awaits the decision of the Danish government on the request for his extradition by Japan for a previous case related to his fight for whales. The country accuses him of being jointly responsible for damages as well as injuries on a Japanese ship. Claims deemed “spurious” by the defense. In the event of extradition, his lawyers fear that their client will suffer “inhuman treatment in Japanese jails”, something feared by the detainee himself, who had indicated à Franceinfo that if he went there, he  would "die". 

Very strict detention conditions

Julie Sage, Paul Watson's lawyer, deplores the time taken by the procedure: "&Ultimately, the question of proportionality of pretrial detention in relation to the offence will pose a problem”. The same speech from the president of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali, as reported by Le Parisien: “We want the Danish minister to finally make a decision. At the moment, they are letting him rot in prison, it is frankly problematic”. According to her, Paul Watson is also living in increasingly difficult conditions in prison: “They have practically cut him off from all contact with the outside world. He is now only allowed 10 minutes of phone time per week with his wife.

In his cell, however, Paul Watson does not give up his fight: “If they think that this will stop our opposition! I have only changed ships, and my current ship is 'Nuuk Prison'. The Japanese want to use me for “as an example to show that their whaling should not be touched,” he told AFP at the end of the summer.