Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has been released from prison in Greenland, where he was held at Japan’s request. Greenland is an autonomous region of Denmark, and Danish authorities decided not to extradite him to Japan.
Watson was arrested in July in Nuuk, Greenland, for allegedly damaging a ship and injuring a whaler during a 2010 protest by his organization, Sea Shepherd. Denmark decided to release Watson due to the severity of the alleged crimes and the time elapsed since the incidents.
Uncertainty about whether Watson’s detention time would be deducted from any potential sentence in Japan also influenced the decision. After his release, Watson told AFP that his imprisonment highlighted “Japan’s ongoing illegal whaling.” Japan has not yet commented on his release.
Source: NOS