Paul Watson, Anti-Whaling Activist, Released from Greenland Jail

Paul Watson, the prominent anti-whaling activist and founder of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, has been released from prison in Greenland after Danish officials declined Japan's request for extradition.

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has been released from a Greenlandic prison after spending five months in custody, with Danish authorities turning down a request for extradition from Japan. The 74-year-old activist, who is known for his role on the reality TV show "Whale Wars," was detained last July upon the arrival of his ship in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. His arrest stemmed from a 2012 Japanese warrant related to an incident in Antarctic waters in 2010, where he allegedly damaged a Japanese whaling vessel and injured a crew member.

Watson, who has consistently rejected the allegations against him as unfounded, became the focus of a campaign that garnered over 123,000 signatures calling for his release. Denmark's justice ministry cited "the nature of circumstances" and the significant lapse of time since the alleged events as reasons for denying Japan’s extradition request. Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard emphasized the importance of considering Watson's lengthy detention as potentially part of any future sentencing he might face.

Although Japan and Denmark do not have an extradition treaty, Tokyo had sought the extradition, suggesting that it arises from a cultural standpoint surrounding whaling practices which both conservationists and local governments respond to differently. Conservation advocates have vehemently opposed whaling, citing environmental and ethical concerns, while Japanese officials maintain that the practice is rooted in cultural traditions. After his release, Mr. Watson described his detention as retribution for the controversies stirred by his television program, which has drawn attention to Japan's whaling practices.

Watson was operating the M/Y John Paul DeJoria with a crew of volunteers on a mission to intervene against Japanese whaling activities when he was detained. Following his departure from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 2022, he had been pursuing his conservation mission through his newly founded Captain Paul Watson Foundation. In 2019, Japan formally resumed commercial whaling after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission, while continuing to conduct whaling under the guise of scientific research.