Paul Watson – ‘Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied!’

The Hunt Saboteurs Association is once again urging its supporters to take action in support of Captain Paul Watson. Paul’s detention was extended by a further three weeks by a Danish court on October 23rd , putting his next hearing back until November 13th.

Captain Paul Watson will need very little introduction to supporters of the Hunt Saboteurs Association. Indeed, there has always been a close affinity between hunt sabs and Sea Shepherd/CPWF (Captain Paul Watson Foundation), with many sabs having crewed on Sea Shepherd/CPWF vessels over the years.

Paul co-founded Greenpeace, before forming Sea Shepherd in 1977. Paul was also a hunt sab himself in Scotland back in the 1980s. Today Paul leads the ‘Captain Paul Watson Foundation’ and continues his remarkable history of shutting down illegal whaling operations around the world.

Paul was detained on 21st July of this year, and has since been fighting extradition to Japan over allegations from 2010 relating to a protest in the Atlantic against an illegal whaling operation. It has been claimed that Paul injured a whaling crew member in a non-lethal stink bomb protest, an allegation which he denies.

In court on October 23rd , Paul’s defence argued that the time Paul has spent in detention is disproportionate to the alleged incident, and that he has already effectively served the equivalent of a sentence. Finn Meinel, Paul’s defence lawyer explained the timeline of the alleged offence, adding that the case is political in nature and that keeping Watson detained in this manner is a breach of his human rights.

However, despite international calls for Paul Watson’s release the judge sided with the prosecution in granting an extension to his detention. The judge said evidence cannot be considered at this time due to no decision being made by the Justice Ministry on whether they will proceed in Paul’s extradition, and – yet again – blocking crucial defence footage that his legal team claim would exonerate him.

It is abundantly clear that the so-called charges against Paul are being blown out of all proportion to silence his work against illegal whaling operations. Paul’s supporters include global environmental agencies and human rights advocates, who agree there is a lack of transparency and fairness in these proceedings.

“As Paul aptly states, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’ and the Danish government, acting on behalf of the Japanese government, is perpetuating an injustice for the world to witness and condemn.”

– Omar Todd, CEO CPWF

CALL TO ACTION – SIGN THE PETITION!
https://www.paulwatsonfoundation.org/freepaulwatson