Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has been released from a Greenland prison where he had been held for five months after Denmark rejected Japan’s request to extradite him.

In July last year, 74-year-old Watson was detained by police when his boat docked in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.

Police acted on a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant, accusing him of causing damage to a Japanese whaler, obstructing commerce and injuring a crew member during an encounter in Antarctic waters in February 2010.

Watson, a Canadian-American citizen who starred in the reality TV show “Whale Wars,” has denied any wrongdoing. He told the BBC he felt “relieved” after being released and able to return home to see his children.

Watson, who had just been released from Nuuk prison, said in a video call that his time in prison had drawn attention to “illegal” Japanese whaling.

“All the evidence shows that I was not present at all when this crime occurred,” he added. “We record everything. Everything is on film.”

Whaling and eating whale meat have been harshly criticized by conservation groups, but Japanese officials consider it part of the country’s culture and way of life.

Denmark’s Ministry of Justice confirmed it would not comply with Japan’s extradition request, basing its decision on the “nature of the situation” and the fact that the incident dates back 14 years.

His lawyer Julie Sturge told the BBC that Mr Watson was “visibly relieved” and “looking forward to being reunited with his wife and children”.

Since Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, the decision to extradite him was taken in Copenhagen. Although Japan and Denmark do not have an extradition treaty, the Tokyo government has asked Denmark to hand him over.

Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said it was “vital” to ensure that Mr Watson’s time in detention in Greenland was deducted from any possible jail sentence he might later face in Japan. .

He added that the department, following correspondence with Japanese authorities, had concluded that “it cannot be assumed with the necessary certainty that this will be the case”.

Mr Watson’s vessel, the M/Y John Paul DeJoria, was heading to the North Pacific with 26 volunteers on board to intercept a new Japanese capture vessel while it docked in Nuuk on July 21 to refuel. Whale ship.

At a previous detention hearing, Mr Watson told the court the case was “retaliation for a TV show that was extremely embarrassing to Japan in the eyes of the world”.

Mr Watson said he also planned to travel to Interpol in the new year to discuss a pending red notice for his arrest.

He added that his organization was prepared to continue its anti-whaling campaign.

Mr Watson has been a controversial figure for years, known for his run-ins with whaling ships at sea.

The activist is the former president of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which he left in 2022 to form the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.

Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission and resumed commercial whaling in 2019 after a 30-year hiatus – although during this period it continued to hunt for research purposes.