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Denmark will not extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson to Japan

Watson, accused of causing damage to a Japanese whaling ship and injuring a whaler in 2010, was released from detention in Greenland

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Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson arrives for a court hearing in Nuuk, Greenland, on October 2. Photo: AFP

Denmark on Tuesday decided against a Japanese extradition request for anti-whaling activist Paul Watson over charges dating back to a 2010 clash, his lawyer said.

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Watson has been held since July when his ship docked in Nuuk – the capital of the Danish autonomous territory – on a 2012 Japanese warrant, which accuses him of causing damage to a whaling ship and injuring a whaler.

“He is free. We’ve just been informed by the Ministry of Justice, he’s not going to be extradited,” Watson’s lawyer Julie Stage said.

Watson was on Tuesday released from his detention in Greenland.

“The Greenland Police has today received the Ministry of Justice’s decision in the case of extradition for Paul Watson,” police said in a statement.

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Watson, who featured in the reality TV series Whale Wars, founded Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF) and is known for radical tactics including confrontations with whaling ships at sea.

According to documents viewed by AFP, Denmark reached its decision while considering the duration of Watson’s detention following his arrest and the time it would take for a possible extradition to be carried out.

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