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

Paul Watson has been imprisoned for several months awaiting release eacute;decision on his potential extradition to Japan. His conditions of imprisonment are harsh.

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 “inhumane treatment in Japanese jails”, which is feared by the detainee himself, who had indicated to Franceinfo that if he went there, he would “die”.

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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. The Greenlandic courts are expected to rule quickly on whether or not to keep Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson in detention. A new hearing will be held, concerning a third request for release filed by the detainee's lawyers, while the prosecution is requesting an extension of his time behind bars.

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.