He was arrested in Germany at the behest of Costa Rican authorities for an incident that happened a decade ago off Guatemala’s coast.
Now, Canadian anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has breached his bail and fled to an unknown location, just days after Japan also requested his arrest.
It’s the latest chapter in the international saga of a man who has devoted his life to protecting whales, dolphins and other marine animals — no matter the consequences.
Japan said Thursday it asked Germany to arrest Watson, a 61-year-old Toronto native and founder of California-based environmental group Sea Shepherd, which preaches “direct-action tactics” to thwart illegal activities on the high seas.
Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd in France, confirmed Watson fled Germany and is now in an undisclosed location.
She said Japan has been trying to extradite Watson — who is already facing an extradition request from Costa Rica — and that the country has an agreement with Costa Rica to work together against “terrorism.”
“Japan has wanted Paul Watson for a long time,” said Essemlali.
“He was still hoping that Germany would not send him to Costa Rica or at least he could have a fair trial in Costa Rica, but we’ve heard otherwise recently and that’s the reason why he made the choice to leave Germany,” she said.
She said she doesn’t know Watson’s whereabouts and has not spoken with him.
Watson, an early member of Greenpeace, was first arrested May 13 at Frankfurt Airport on a warrant from Costa Rica, which claimed he endangered the crew of a fishing vessel a decade ago.
Watson denied the charge and was released on $320,000 bail. He was supposed to report to police twice a day, but failed to do so on Sunday.
When reached Thursday, Watson’s lawyer Oliver Wallasch said he was “not allowed to speak about this issue.”
Watson’s arrest relates to an incident in 2002, when his boat rammed into a Costa Rican fishing boat that Sea Shepherd says was illegally cutting shark fins. Charges of attempted murder and destruction of property were later dismissed, but Costa Rica reissued its arrest warrant in October.
Video of the incident shows Watson’s boat, the Farley Mowat, spraying the Costa Rican boat with high-powered hoses. The boats then collide. Toronto filmmaker Rob Stewart, who witnessed the altercation, called it an accident.
Watson is known for disrupting whale hunts and for his campaigns against shark finning, a practice that involves catching sharks, slicing off their fins and throwing them back into the sea, sometimes barely alive.
Japanese officials have called Sea Shepherd members terrorists and the country requested Watson be placed on an Interpol blue notice — which asks only for a subject’s whereabouts and not an arrest — in 2010. Interpol said it will not issue a red notice, or an international wanted persons alert.
In an interview from Sharkwater, Watson explains his dedication to the cause that has enveloped his life.
“Less people are prepared to devote their lives to solving these problems, nothing’s really going to change. But you don’t need everybody,” he said.
“You just simply need a small percentage — five, seven per cent. You’re starting to make a big impact.”
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