FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The environmental group Sea Shepherd says its founder Paul Watson risks being sent to Japan if a German court extradites him to Costa Rica.
Watson was arrested May 13 at Frankfurt Airport on a Costa Rican warrant over a 2002 incident but released on bail several days later pending an extradition decision.
U.S.-based Sea Shepherd confirmed Thursday that Watson skipped bail earlier this week and is now "in an undisclosed location."
The group says it has "reason to believe from a reliable source that, once in Costa Rica, the Japanese government may have sought extradition of Captain Watson to Japan to answer charges related to obstructing their illegal whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary."
Japan's embassy in Germany declined immediately to comment on the claim.