Denmark has rejected a Japanese request to extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson on criminal charges dating back more than a decade, a Danish lawyer representing Watson said on Tuesday.
Watson, 74, a Canadian-American and founder of the conservation group Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, has now been released from custody in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk, Greenland police said.
Watson was arrested when his ship docked in the Danish autonomous territory in July.
"I'm certainly relieved, especially because it allows me to go home to my children before Christmas," Paul Watson told Reuters after his release on Tuesday.
"I haven't seen my children since June. But the support here in Greenland has been amazing," he said, adding that he had received more than 4,000 letters of support, including a dozen from well-wishers from Japan.
Denmark's justice ministry said it had based its decision on an overall assessment, including the age of the case and, in particular, uncertainty over whether time spent in Greenland detention could be deducted from any final sentence in Japan
"Based on correspondence with the Japanese authorities on this matter, the Ministry of Justice believes that it cannot be assumed with the necessary certainty that this will be the case," Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in a statement.
Watson's attorney, Julie Stage, said she was pleased with the decision.
"We think it's taken a long time, but the most important thing is that it ends up with the right decision," Stage said.
"He was happy and relieved, but incredibly calm, which he has been throughout the process," he said after speaking with Watson on Tuesday.
Charges related to the 2010 incident
Japan had issued an international arrest warrant for Watson, seeking him on charges of trespassing on a Japanese ship in the Antarctic Ocean in 2010, obstructing its business and causing injury and property damage.
A spokesman for the Japanese embassy in Copenhagen declined to comment. Japan's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Watson denied the allegations against him. His lawyers have said that Japan's justice system cannot be trusted to give the activist a fair trial and that Denmark should deny the extradition request.
Watson's supporters had launched a campaign for her release, garnering support from politicians and celebrities including French President Emmanuel Macron, Brigitte Bardot and Irish actor Pierce Brosnan.
France, where Watson has resided since 2023, has also discussed Watson's case at ministerial level, according to Denmark's justice ministry.
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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