Canadian anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson will not be extradited to face Japanese charges
Denmark has rejected a request to extradite Japanese anti-whaling activist Paul Watson on criminal charges dating back more than a decade, a Danish lawyer representing Watson said on Tuesday.
A 74-year-old US-Canadian, founder of the Sea Shepherd conservation group and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, has been released from custody in the Greenlandic capital of Nuuk, Greenland police said.
Watson was captured in July when his ship approached the Danish sovereign.
“Paul is free!!!” on the Sea Shepherd France X social media platform.
Denmark’s Ministry of Justice, which is in charge of the extradition request, declined to immediately comment but said it would issue a statement on Tuesday.
Charges related to the 2010 incident
In 2010, Japan issued an international warrant for Watson’s arrest on charges of obstructing a Japanese ship in the Antarctic Ocean, causing injury and damage to property.
Watson has denied the charges against him. His lawyers said that the Japanese justice system cannot be trusted to give the activist a fair trial and that Denmark should reject the extradition request.
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Watson’s supporters have launched a campaign for her release, with the support of politicians and celebrities including French President Emmanuel Macron, Brigitte Bardot and Irish actor Pierce Brosnan.
According to the Danish Ministry of Justice, France, where Watson has been living since 2023, discussed Watson’s case at the ministerial level.
A spokesman for the Japanese embassy in Copenhagen declined to comment.
Watson left Sea Shepherd in 2022 to start his own organization. He was also a leading member of Greenpeace before leaving in 1977 amid disagreements over tactics.
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