Danish authorities have indicated they will carefully consider whether to extradite a former leader of the anti-whaling Sea Shepherd group following a request by the Japanese government.
In 2010, Japan’s Coast Guard obtained an arrest warrant for Paul Watson on suspicion of organizing forcible obstructions of Japan’s research whaling and put him on a global wanted list via the International Criminal Police Organization, or ICPO.
Police in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, detained Watson on July 21. He had been on his way by sea to the North Pacific on a mission to obstruct the operation of a Japanese whaling mother ship.
Denmark’s Ministry of Justice told NHK on Thursday that it had received a formal extradition request from the Japanese government on the previous day. The ministry indicated it would carefully consider the request in coordination with local police.
There are growing calls against Watson’s extradition, particularly from anti-whaling countries. French President Emmanuel Macron has requested the Danish government not to extradite Watson. French media reported that an online petition calling for his release has collected nearly 700,000 signatures.
A court in Greenland says his detention period will expire on August 15. A decision on whether to hand him over to Japan is expected to be made by that date.