Freed anti-whaling activist Paul Watson on Friday arrived in France after five months in detention in the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland due to an extradition demand from Japan.
Watson, a 74-year-old Canadian-American, was released on Tuesday after Denmark refused the Japanese extradition request over a 2010 clash with whalers. He was released after a high-profile campaign in his support.
French President Emmanuel Macron had pressed Danish authorities not to extradite the campaigner, who has applied for French nationality.
Watson landed at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport shortly before 3:00 pm (1400 GMT), an airport source said.
A smiling Watson was seen wheeling his luggage through the airport terminal as armed police looked on.
Supporters clapped and some shouted: “Bravo!”
One woman handed him a balloon. The activist left the airport without making a statement, only saying: “Thank you” in French and English.
“We didn’t expect him to be released, especially before Christmas,” said Gabriela Cabrera, a 49-year-old volunteer with Sea Shepherd, an organisation founded by Watson. She said she was delighted by what she described as “a miracle”.
Another supporter, Laurence Huygues-Despointes, said she wanted to thank President Macron.
“We criticised him (Macron) a lot, but he vouched for him (Watson) and I hope he will obtain French nationality,” said the 68-year-old.
Watson, who featured in the reality TV series “Whale Wars”, founded the campaign group Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).
Adept at gaining publicity, he gained notoriety for “direct-action” tactics such as ramming vessels and using acoustic weapons, water cannon and stink bombs.
In the 2000s and 2010s, Sea Shepherd played a rough game of cat and mouse with Japanese ships as they sought to slaughter hundreds of whales every year for “scientific purposes”.
Watson had been held in Greenland since July on a 2012 Japanese warrant, which accuses him of causing damage to a whaling ship and injuring a whaler.
– ‘Feeling great’ –
On his release on Tuesday, Watson had announced his intention to return to France, where his two young children attend school.
Watson’s legal woes have attracted support from the public and activists, including prominent British conservationist Jane Goodall.
“It’s been five months and this is the first day of freedom, so I’m feeling great,” Watson told AFP in a video call shortly after his release from the Danish autonomous territory.
Tokyo accuses Watson of injuring a Japanese crew member with a stink bomb intended to disrupt the whalers’ activities during a Sea Shepherd clash with the Shonan Maru 2 vessel in 2010.
Watson’s lawyers have said they have video footage proving the crew member was not on deck when the stink bomb was thrown.
Supporters planned to stage a rally on Saturday afternoon to welcome Watson.
On Wednesday, Japan’s government voiced dismay over Watson’s release.
Supporters of whaling accuse their critics of double standards given the methods used to produce much of the millions of tons of meat from other animals consumed every year.
amb-as/sjw/bc
