Environmental activist Paul Watson returns to France after five months of detention

After spending five months in detention in Denmark, American-Canadian environmental activist Paul Watson arrived at Roissy – Charles-de-Gaulle airport shortly before 3 p.m. on Friday December 20. Denmark rejected Japan's extradition request on Tuesday.

Paul Watson, aged 74, engaged for around fifty years in the defense of whales and known for his punchy actions, aroused an outpouring of sympathy in France where the authorities had asked Denmark not to extradite him , as well as among environmental defenders. To the applause of the handful of sympathizers who came to welcome him, he left the airport without making a statement.

A rally planned in Paris on Saturday

Upon his release on Tuesday, he announced his intention to return to France, where his family lives. “A gathering will take place in Paris, on Saturday December 21, 2024, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., to warmly welcome the founder of Sea Shepherd who has just found freedom after one hundred and forty-nine days spent in prison in Greenland”the organization announced Thursday in a press release.

“My arrest has drawn international attention to Japan’s continued illegal whaling operations”Mr. Watson welcomed Tuesday in a video interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP). “These five months were an extension of the campaign” against whaling, according to him.

He was arrested on July 21 in Nuuk, capital of Greenland, after the relaunch of a request issued by Japan in 2012 by an Interpol red notice. His lawyers have announced their intention to attack this red notice and the Japanese arrest warrant.