Animal rights activist Paul Watson will remain in Nuuk Prison until 5 September, Greenland's High Court ruled on Tuesday.
Watson, a 73-year-old American-Canadian, was arrested about a month ago in Nuuk, the capital of the autonomous Danish region.
A lower court decided on 15 August that he must remain in custody until early September. However, his lawyer, the founder of the French chapter of the Sea Shepherd NGO, appealed to the High Court, arguing that his continued detention was disproportionate.
On 31 July, the Japanese authorities requested Denmark’s Ministry of Justice to extradite Watson in connection with his whale protection activities. That request is still being scrutinised.
Watson’s arrest was linked to an Interpol red notice issued in 2012, when Japan accused him of being partly responsible for damage and injuries on a Japanese whaling ship two years prior, in a campaign led by Sea Shepherd.
On leaving the Nuuk court on Thursday, Watson told French news agency AFP before stepping into a police van that his ongoing detention was increasing pressure on Japan to stop its “illegal whaling.”
In a message sent to AFP on Tuesday, Sea Shepherd disclosed that Watson’s lawyers would be filing an application to the Danish Appeal Board, a necessary step for gaining permission to appeal against the decision in the Danish Supreme Court.
