An anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has been released from prison in Greenland after Denmark refused Japan’s request for his extradition. Watson, 74, was detained last July when his vessel docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, following a decade-old Japanese warrant.
The 2012 warrant accused Watson of damaging a Japanese whaling ship, obstructing business, and injuring a crew member during a 2010 clash in Antarctic waters. Watson, a Canadian-American citizen and the star of the reality TV series *Whale Wars*, denied all allegations. Speaking to AFP after his release, Watson said his imprisonment had “shone a spotlight on illegal Japanese whaling” and described it as “an extension of my campaign.”
Whaling remains a contentious issue globally. Conservation groups continue to criticise Japan’s practices, while Japanese officials defend whaling as an integral part of their cultural heritage and way of life.
The Danish justice ministry confirmed it would not honour Japan’s extradition request, citing the “nature of circumstances” and the significant time that had elapsed since the 2010 incident. Denmark’s Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard explained that one key factor in the decision was the uncertainty over whether Watson’s time in custody would count toward any future prison sentence in Japan. “It cannot be assumed with the necessary certainty that this will be the case,” Hummelgaard noted, following communications with Japanese authorities.
Watson’s lawyer, Julie Stage, told the BBC that her client was “obviously relieved” and eager to reunite with his wife and children.
Greenland, though an autonomous territory, falls under Denmark’s judicial system. Without an extradition treaty between Japan and Denmark, Tokyo’s request for Watson’s transfer required Copenhagen’s ruling.
At the time of his arrest, Watson’s ship, the M/Y John Paul DeJoria, was en route to the North Pacific with a crew of 26 volunteers, aiming to intercept a new Japanese whaling vessel. Watson called the case “revenge” for *Whale Wars*, a television show that, he claims, deeply embarrassed Japan on the global stage.
Watson has long been a controversial figure, famed for direct confrontations with whaling vessels. Formerly the head of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, he stepped down in 2022 to establish the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, continuing his relentless fight against commercial whaling.
Japan’s whaling practices have been under intense scrutiny. After withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in 2019, Tokyo resumed commercial whaling following a 30-year pause, though it maintained whaling for “scientific research” during that period.
Now free, Watson remains a defiant voice in the global fight to protect marine life, with his release likely to fuel renewed activism against Japan’s whaling industry.
