HomeDanish Crime NewsEnvironmental activist denied necessary interpreter assistance in Greenland court hearing

Environmental activist denied necessary interpreter assistance in Greenland court hearing

Under a court hearing in Greenland on Thursday regarding the ongoing detention of environmental activist Paul Watson, there was a lack of qualified translation services available to translate proceedings into English. This was stated by Watson’s attorney, Julie Stage.

Stage explained that the court had arranged for the same interpreter who had been present during the preliminary hearing, despite previous warnings about the interpreter’s inadequate English language skills. “We encountered the problem upon arriving at the court,” she said. This situation forced Stage to conduct her client’s examination in English while simultaneously providing him with ongoing summaries of the court proceedings.

In Denmark, it is a fundamental right for accused individuals, defendants, or witnesses who do not speak or understand Danish to access interpretation services. Paul Watson was arrested in Greenland on July 21 and has since been detained, which is comparable to pretrial detention in Denmark. His arrest is based on an international arrest warrant from Japan, which seeks to prosecute Watson for an incident in Antarctica in 2010. Japan accuses him of assaulting Japanese whalers and preventing their activities.

Julie Stage stressed the seriousness of the issue: “As a lawyer, I do not have the capacity to translate the entire court session, as it hinders my ability to perform my job properly. It is a fundamental right to understand what is happening in court.” According to Sermitsiaq.AG, several individuals present attempted to provide translation assistance for Watson before Stage ultimately took over the task herself.

Paul Watson and his legal team have filed an appeal regarding the court’s decision on his detention to the Greenlandic High Court (Grønlands Landsret). It remains unclear when the High Court will review the case.

Ritzau, a Danish news agency, has attempted to obtain comment from the Greenlandic Court regarding the interpretation issue but has received no response.

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