Japan calls for anti-whaling activist Paul Watson's extradition from Denmark

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The government of Japan formally requested the extradition from Denmark of Paul Watson , the anti-whaling activist and reality TV star who is being detained in Greenland.

Japanese officials requested Interpol issue an international arrest warrant for Watson's arrest but were still waiting for a response to their request from Danish authorities.

Watson, 73, was arrested in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, last month while refueling on the way to intercept a Japanese whaling ship in the North Pacific.

A message from Paul Watson's son, Tiger:

"I love my father. Please let him go, Denmark."

After his arrest in Nuuk, Greenland, Paul Watson now faces the possibility of spending what could likely amount to the rest of his life in prison should he be extradited to Japan, where he... pic.twitter.com/s9QOo8mwLF — Captain Paul Watson Foundation ‍☠️ (@CaptPaulWatson) August 2, 2024

The charges stem from reportedly interfering with the operations of the Japanese whaling fleet in 2010 in the Antarctic.

"We will continue to take appropriate measures, including making approaches to relevant countries and organizations," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told The Asahi Shimbun Friday.

Japan made the formal request Wednesday for Watson's extradition.

A query of Watson's name on Interpol's Red Notice arrest warrant list did not yield any results Friday morning.

Supporters of Watson have campaigned for his release and for Denmark not to honor the Japanese extradition request.

The Captain Paul Watson Foundation has called the arrest warrant "politically motivated."

"I love my father. Please let him go, Denmark," Watson's son Tiger said in a message posted on X Friday morning on the foundation's account.

French President Emmanuel Macron has come out publicly against Watson's extradition, while a French online petition calling for his release has eclipsed 650,000 signatures.

Watson, who was born in Toronto and is a dual citizen in Canada and the United States, was a member of the environmental activist group Greenpeace but left to found the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd in 1977. He left the latter in 2022.

He became an international celebrity after his ship and crew were featured in the show Whale Wars on the Animal Planet network. The program depicted Watson and his gang tracking, distracting and even ramming whale-hunting vessels.

Watson was previously jailed in Germany in 2012 after being detained on an international arrest issued by Costa Rica for "endangering" a fishing vessel near Guatemala in 2002.