An anti-whaling activist will stay in detention in Greenland

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A court in Greenland on Wednesday once again decided to extend the custody of anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson till Nov. 13 while Denmark considers a Japanese extradition request.

It was unclear when Denmark will decide whether or not to send him to Japan, which does not have an extradition treaty with the Scandinavian country.

Watson, a 73-year-old Canadian-American citizen, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Its direct action tactics, including high-seas confrontations with whaling vessels, have drawn support from A-list celebrities and were featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars.”

Watson was arrested on July 21 when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital and a Greenland court repeatedly has approved his detention while Danish authorities look into his possible extradition to Japan, where he faces up to 15 years in prison, according to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.

Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark and handles police and justice matters.

Japan’s coast guard sought his arrest over an encounter with a Japanese whaling research ship in 2010. He was accused of obstructing the crew’s official duties by ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the whaling ship.

Prosecutor Mariam Khalil said that there still was a flight risk and an extension of the custody was needed, the Greenland newspaper Sermitsiaq said.

A lawyer with Watson’s defense team, Finn Meinel, told The Associated Press from Nuuk that “it is of course disappointing that someone is being kept for such a long time.”

Last week, Sea Shepherd France said Watson had asked France’s president for political asylum. It said a letter from Watson had been delivered to