Supporters of Captain Paul Watson will be celebrating this week that the head and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has managed to escape arrest and flee Germany.
Watson was arrested over 70 days ago under an extradition warrant from Costa Rica in connection with an incident that took place 10 years ago at sea off their coast. The case had dragged on, preventing Watson from leaving Germany, and his lawyers claimed he was willing to go to Costa Rica under certain conditions (see communiqué below).
However, as explained by his lawyer, the reason for him fleeing Germany is a real fear that Costa Rica would extradite him to Japan on charges he has been disrupting Japan’s whaling industry, which works under the cover of “research” but actually catches whales for slaughter and sale.
Watson’s exit from Germany presents a dilemma. While his supporters will be happy he escaped extradition, it puts him in a tricky situation legally and could hamper his mobility and work. There are other governments who might feel compelled to respond and arrest him if he turns up on their shores.
An upside-down world
If we stand back and look at Watson’s case in terms of justice, everything is upside down.
Here is somebody who is fighting to uphold the laws and protect sharks, whales and other marine animals and yet is being hounded. On the other hand, the people doing the killing are largely free to carry on their slaughter.
People like Paul Watson are crucial
Those who know of Sea Shepherd’s work know that the over-fishing and slaughter is reaching critical levels. People like Watson need to be allowed to do their work. Germany’s stance on this has been regrettable. Rather than seeing this as political shark hunt, with powerful players such as Japan and the Chinese mafia behind the scenes, they have failed to make a just judgment and dismiss the extradition order. After all, isn’t it odd that this case has cropped up 10 years after the incident and isn’t it odd that anybody who looks at video footage and the Sharkwater documentary can observe the nature of the incident. The Guatamalan government actually gave Watson’s vessel permission to pursue the vessel that was fishing for sharks illegally before it strayed into Costa Rican waters.
It is clear that Watson needs support right now. His legal team will need to plot the way forward carefully.
Don’t let your guard down
Right now, Paul Watson needs support. The governments of Costa Rica and Japan should be put on notice that their behavior is unacceptable. It is time that the fight for the oceans was ratcheted up.
Watson’s work works. The work of collective individuals like Sea Shepherd works. Now is the time for utmost vigilance and action.
Check out the Sea Shepherd statement below and support their work:
The Japanese Government is again stopping at nothing in their quest to bring an end to Captain Paul Watson’s efforts to cease their illegal whaling activities. German Counsel for Watson, who departed Germany after being held for 70 days for extradition to Costa Rica, has confirmed the Japanese Embassy submitted a request to the German Foreign Office to extradite Watson to Japan.
Germany had been proceeding with Watson’s extradition to Costa Rica. Sea Shepherd has had concerns that Watson’s life would be in danger or he would be extradited to Japan. Today, Sea Shepherd’s suspicions were confirmed by Watson’s attorney.
“I received confirmation today from Germany’s General Public Prosecutor that Japan filed an extradition request against Paul Watson on July 19th,” said Oliver Wallasch, lead German Counsel for Captain Paul Watson.
“Germany was proceeding with Captain Watson’s extradition to Costa Rica and, once there, there is no doubt he would have been delivered into Japanese custody,” said Susan Hartland, Administrative Director for Sea Shepherd. “Upon being extradited to Japan, he would not have received a fair trial and would never have seen the outside of a prison again,” she added.
Even with a rumored bounty of at least $25K on his head by shark-finners in Costa Rica, Watson was prepared to go to Costa Rica of his own volition (not via extradition) and answer to charges of a violation of ship traffic involving water cannon usage back in 2002. However, he then learned his arrest had caught Japan’s attention and they contacted the German Ministry of Justice to strike a deal with them. This deal with Germany would involve Germany not objecting to a Japanese request to Costa Rica to turn Watson over to Japan. Sea Shepherd knows that Interpol dismissed the Costa Rican warrant. But Germany arrested Captain Watson on May 13th despite the politically motivated warrant and decided that they would entertain the Costa Rican request on a bilateral basis — on behalf of both Costa Rica and Japan.
“Japan’s attempts at brokering backroom deals with Germany and Costa Rica along with bringing litigation against Sea Shepherd in the U.S. are desperate attempts to stop Captain Watson and will never thwart Sea Shepherd’s continued work to protect our oceans,” said Hartland. “We operate under the United Nations World Charter for Nature to uphold international conservation laws and directly intervene against illegal activities on the high seas. Japan is under the false impression that if they jail Captain Watson, they will halt our campaigns to protect ocean wildlife. It’s time Japan realizes nothing they do will stop us from protecting whales and other marine wildlife for future generations everywhere,” she added.
Captain Watson had been detained in Germany for 70 days despite thousands of letters of support sent to the German Ministry of Justice from the public, celebrities, politicians and other luminaries arguing for his release of these politically motivated warrant. He was arrested in Frankfurt on May 13th on a 10-year-old warrant from Costa Rica while en route to Cannes, France. He was being detained in Germany for extradition to Costa Rica for an alleged “violation of ships’ traffic,” which occurred during the 2002 filming of the award-winning documentary, “Sharkwater.” The specific incident took place on the high seas in Guatemalan waters, when Sea Shepherd encountered an illegal shark-finning operation run by Costa Rican vessel, the Varadero. On order of Guatemalan authorities, Sea Shepherd instructed the crew of the Varadero to cease their shark-finning activities and head back to port to be prosecuted. While escorting the Varadero back to port, the tables were turned and a Guatemalan gunboat was dispatched to intercept the Sea Shepherd crew. To avoid the Guatemalan gunboat, Sea Shepherd then set sail for Costa Rica, where the crew uncovered even more illegal shark-finning activities in the form of dried shark fins by the thousands on the roofs of industrial buildings.
Follow developments at the Sea Shepherd website and offer support
