France is mounting pressure in favor of environmentalist Paul Watson, who is wanted by Japan on charges related to his fight against whaling.
After requesting political asylum in France in a private letter to President Emmanuel Macron - a request that has run into legal obstacles - Paul Watson, who lives in France, has applied for French citizenship, Jean Tamale, the French lawyer coordinating his defence team, told AFP.
The application, which was filed on Wednesday, October 23, "takes on its full significance when we realize that since 1977 he has been doing everything possible to protect the marine ecosystem where France has the second largest coastline in the world," the lawyer stresses.
Francois Siemeray, also Paul Watson's lawyer and a former French ambassador to Denmark, stresses that granting French citizenship to his client would be a "strong message" that "can only reinforce the message the French authorities are trying to send to the Danes."
Detained in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, after his arrest on July 21, the 73-year-old American-Canadian national was left behind bars until November 13, pending Copenhagen's decision on Japan's extradition request. on Thursday morning, the French minister for environmental transition, Agnès Panier-Runachet, told France info that France would call on Denmark to release Paul Watson.
We will "reiterate to the president of the republic the fact that the charges against him, from our point of view, do not justify his detention, and we will indeed call for the release of Paul Watson," the minister said.
Stressing that the environmentalist and his defenders were grateful for the support given by the French government and for the "legitimate support of the French people", Mr Tamale expressed the hope that the Danish government "will hear this appeal".
According to him, "the French government and the French presidency know very well the basic facts of the case" and "have come to the conclusion that Paul Watson must be released immediately".
However, the lawyer clarified that "this is not about interference in Denmark's internal affairs, but about dialogue between two great democracies that share the same values".
Asked by Greenlandic public broadcaster KNR if he had a message for Emmanuel Macron, Paul Watson replied "Thank you" in French and said he was looking forward to "returning to France and becoming a French citizen".
Paul Watson, an iconic figure in the fight against whaling, is being prosecuted for "obstructing commerce," according to his defense team, and is accused of causing damage and injury during collisions with a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean in early 2010.
The founder of Sea Shepherd and the ocean foundation that bears his name, Paul Watson, was arrested on July 21 while traveling with his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, to intercept a Japanese whaling ship.
In a rare comment on the case, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaiya said in early October that his country's extradition request was a matter of "law enforcement," not whaling.
On Wednesday, more than a hundred people gathered outside Paris City Hall, where Paul Watson was recently named an honorary citizen, to call for his release, some carrying placards reading "Saving whales is not a crime."
Paul Watson also has a large number of supporters in France, from the journalist Hugo Clément to Brigitte Bardot and the singer Francis Lalanne, who in recent years has been known for his stance against whaling and who has recorded a song in support of the conservationist. I BGNES
