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American-Canadian anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, who was arrested in Greenland in July as his ship docked in the capital Nuuk to refuel, is facing a judge who will rule on whether there is cause to extend his detention in the autonomous Danish territory. Captain Watson was arrested on the basis of a 12-year-old Interpol “Red Notice” after Japan accused him of causing damage to one of its whaling ships in the Antarctic two years earlier and causing injury. Watson founded Sea Shepherd in 1977 but left the organisation in 2022, setting up the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF) and launching its first ship, John Paul DeJoria. When Watson was arrested, the vessel was on its way to “intercept” a new Japanese whaling factory ship in the North Pacific, according to the CPWF.

In a statement, Danish police said the hearing on August 15, 2024 would not deal with the question of whether or not to extradite the 73-year-old campaigner to Japan, a decision that will ultimately be up to the Danish Ministry of Justice. Watson’s arrest has sparked a series of protests demanding his release, with a petition on the CPWF website garnering almost 60,000 signatures to date. Watson has been living in France for the past year and French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has asked Denmark not to extradite the activist.

Watson faces a charge of causing injury, which can carry a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, as well as a charge of forcible obstruction of business, which carries a sentence of up to three years in prison. In a recent interview, Robert Read, a CPWF executive, asked Japan if it “really wants to be known for imprisoning one of the world’s most famous whale conservationists and him dying in a Japanese jail.” Read pointed out that “it is actually going to be counterproductive for Japan because they are going to put whaling on trial.”