Emotional reunion awaits anti-whaling activist Paul Watson after his sudden release in Greenland

LONDON — Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson was freed from prison in Greenland on Tuesday after five months in custody, and will not be extradited to Japan where he is wanted on charges of obstructing a whaling ship.

Watson is planning to return home to be reunited with his family during the festive season, he told The Associated Press upon his release.

''I'm certainly quite relieved," Watson, 74, said during a video interview from Nuuk, Greenland's capital. "This gives me an opportunity to return home to my two children before Christmas.''

Japan had asked Denmark to extradite Watson, who had been in custody in Greenland since his arrest under a Japanese warrant.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters Wednesday in Tokyo that ''it was regrettable that Denmark rejected Japan's extradition request." He said Watson is still wanted in Japan and internationally and that ''Japan will continue to respond appropriately based on law and evidence.''

Watson's foundation said he faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison in Japan, which does not have an extradition treaty with Denmark.

On his way back to France, where he has settled, Watson said he will be careful not to be caught again.

''I have to make sure that I don't land in Iceland or another country where Interpol might try to have me arrested again,'' he said. ''Apparently, the red notice is still there," he added, in a reference to the system which flags people deemed fugitives to law enforcement worldwide and is one of the crime-fighting organization's most important tools.

Interpol confirmed to AP that its red notice issued at the request of Japan is still valid, meaning that Watson could be arrested again. ''It is each member country's decision whether to arrest an individual who is the subject of a red notice, which is not an international arrest warrant,'' the agency said.

Watson should be safe in France. The country and its president, Emmanuel Macron, have been supportive of Watson, who said he was given an honorary citizenship by the city of Paris last week.

''I think that the support from France has been very instrumental in this case,'' Watson said.

The Canadian-American citizen is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose high seas confrontations with whaling vessels have drawn support from celebrities and featured in the reality television series ''Whale Wars.''

Japan's coast guard had sought his arrest over an encounter with a Japanese whaling research ship in 2010 when he was accused of obstructing the crew's official duties by ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the whaling ship.

Watson denied the accusation.

''Well, it's a total fabrication. We never used explosives. Ever. We did use stink bombs, which are quite harmless,'' he said.

Watson was subject to an Interpol red notice, and the captain — a New Zealand citizen — was convicted of assault and given a suspended prison term, which allowed him to leave Japan.

Watson was arrested on July 21 when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland's capital. Japan had asked Denmark to hand over Watson so he could be tried in Japan. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

''I think it all backfired on Japan, because this has put enormous focus on Japan's continued illegal whaling operations," Watson said. "So my time here for five months has actually served a purpose. It's been an opportunity to continue to expose Japan's illegal whaling activities.''

The Danish Justice Ministry said in a statement that the conditions for extradition were met, but it had not received adequate guarantees from Japanese authorities that the time Watson had already served in custody would be counted against any sentence he would receive in Japan.

Watson left Sea Shepherd in 2022 to set up his foundation, which alleged at the time of his arrest that the action was politically motivated — and called for his release.

Japanese officials say their extradition request was not based on Watson's anti-whaling views but purely based on criminal allegations.

He was detained in Germany in 2012 on a Costa Rican extradition warrant but skipped bail after learning that he was also sought for extradition by Japan, which has accused him of endangering whalers' lives during his operations in the Antarctic Ocean. He has since lived in countries including France and the United States.

He pledged to continue fighting.

''I've had five months of not really doing much, so I'm not really tired,'' he said. ''But we have a ship, being prepared, to oppose Icelandic whaling operations in June next year. And we have a ship in Australia that is ready to intervene against Japan if they return to the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary. So we're prepared to take action when we need to.''

Japan's says whale meat is part of its food culture and that it supports sustainable use of whales. Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 2019 and has since resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone.

''Whaling only continues to exist in Japan through massive subsidies,'' Watson claimed. ''In fact, $30 million from the tsunami relief fund was channeled into the whaling industry after 2011. So, you know, this does not benefit the Japanese people at all in any way, shape or form. In fact, what it is is an embarrassment to the Japanese people.''

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Associated Press Writers Jamey Keaten, David Keyton and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.