Emotional reunion awaits anti-whaling activist Paul Watson after his sudden release in Greenland

LONDON (AP) — Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson was freed from prison in Greenland on Tuesday after five months in custody, and will not be extradited to Japan where he is wanted on charges of obstructing a whaling ship.

Watson is planning to return home to be reunited with his family during the festive season, he told The Associated Press upon his release.

“I’m certainly quite relieved," Watson, 74, said during a video interview from Nuuk, Greenland's capital. "This gives me an opportunity to return home to my two children before Christmas.”

Japan had asked Denmark to extradite Watson, who had been in custody in Greenland since his arrest under a Japanese warrant.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters Wednesday in Tokyo that “it was regrettable that Denmark rejected Japan's extradition request." He said Watson is still wanted in Japan and internationally and that “Japan will continue to respond appropriately based on law and evidence.”

Watson's foundation said he faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison in Japan, which does not have an extradition treaty with Denmark.

On his way back to France, where he has settled, Watson said he will be careful not to be caught again.

“I have to make sure that I don’t land in Iceland or another country where Interpol might try to have me arrested again,” he said. “Apparently, the red notice is still there," he added, in a reference to the system which flags people deemed fugitives to law enforcement worldwide and is one of the crime-fighting organization's most important tools.

Interpol confirmed to AP that its red notice issued at the request of Japan is still valid, meaning that Watson could be arrested again. “It is each member country’s decision whether to arrest an individual who is the subject of a red notice, which is not an international arrest warrant,” the agency said.

Watson should be safe in France. The country and its president, Emmanuel Macron, have been supportive of Watson, who said he was given an honorary citizenship by the city of Paris last week.

“I think that the support from France has been very instrumental in this case,” Watson said.

The Canadian-American citizen is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose high seas confrontations with whaling vessels have drawn support from celebrities and featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars.”

Japan’s coast guard had sought his arrest over an encounter with a Japanese whaling research ship in 2010 when he was accused of obstructing the crew’s official duties by ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the whaling ship.

Watson denied the accusation.

“Well, it’s a total fabrication. We never used explosives. Ever. We did use stink bombs, which are quite harmless,” he said.

Watson was subject to an Interpol red notice, and the captain — a New Zealand citizen — was convicted of assault and given a suspended prison term, which allowed him to leave Japan.

Watson was arrested on July 21 when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. Japan had asked Denmark to hand over Watson so he could be tried in Japan. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

“I think it all backfired on Japan, because this has put enormous focus on Japan’s continued illegal whaling operations," Watson said. "So my time here for five months has actually served a purpose. It’s been an opportunity to continue to expose Japan’s illegal whaling activities.”

The Danish Justice Ministry said in a statement that the conditions for extradition were met, but it had not received adequate guarantees from Japanese authorities that the time Watson had already served in custody would be counted against any sentence he would receive in Japan.

Watson left Sea Shepherd in 2022 to set up his foundation, which alleged at the time of his arrest that the action was politically motivated — and called for his release.

Japanese officials say their extradition request was not based on Watson’s anti-whaling views but purely based on criminal allegations.

He was detained in Germany in 2012 on a Costa Rican extradition warrant but skipped bail after learning that he was also sought for extradition by Japan, which has accused him of endangering whalers’ lives during his operations in the Antarctic Ocean. He has since lived in countries including France and the United States.

He pledged to continue fighting.

“I’ve had five months of not really doing much, so I’m not really tired,” he said. “But we have a ship, being prepared, to oppose Icelandic whaling operations in June next year. And we have a ship in Australia that is ready to intervene against Japan if they return to the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary. So we’re prepared to take action when we need to.”

Japan's says whale meat is part of its food culture and that it supports sustainable use of whales. Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 2019 and has since resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone.

“Whaling only continues to exist in Japan through massive subsidies,” Watson claimed. “In fact, $30 million from the tsunami relief fund was channeled into the whaling industry after 2011. So, you know, this does not benefit the Japanese people at all in any way, shape or form. In fact, what it is is an embarrassment to the Japanese people.”

Associated Press Writers Jamey Keaten, David Keyton and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.

Environmental activist Paul Watson waves as he is released from prison in Nuuk, Greenland, Tuesday Dec. 17, 2024. (Alataq Moeller/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Environmental activist Paul Watson is released from prison in Nuuk, Greenland, Tuesday Dec. 17, 2024. (Alataq Moeller/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

FILE - Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, founder of the Oregon-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, testifies during a contempt of court hearing in federal court, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Karen Ducey, Pool, FILE)

FILE - People demonstrate to support Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, known for his decades-long fight against Japanese whaling and arrested in Greenland, and who has asked France's president for political asylum, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

FILE - In this May 23, 2012 file picture Paul Watson, founder and President of the animal rights and environmental group Sea Shepherd Conservation takes part in a demonstration against the Costa Rican government near Germany's Presidential residence during a visit of Costa Rica's president Laura Chinchilla in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)