meh.
boring......

This is not exactly a surprise.

I am only surprised the Germans gave him bail in the first place.

This is humiliating for the German authorities of course, and an embarrassment for the German green party who were putting the pressure on to stop the extradition and financial loss for the supporters who put up the €250,000 bail bond, which of course now will be forfeited.

I can not see the Germans forgiving and forgetting any time soon.

I wonder where he has gone

meh.
boring......

Sorry. We shall all do our very best to make sure what happens in the world is much more interesting from now on, just for you.

He's being prosecuted for disrupting illegal whaling activities?

Classic...

Sea shepherd forfeits €250,000 ( donated by his supporters presumably ) because Watson doesn't have the courage of his so called convictions to defend himself in a court of law, yet claims to carry out his actions under international law. uhuh..

Interesting though, presumably he can no longer enter the schengen area without being arrested and presumably Germany will issue an arrest warrant via interpol... What goes around comes around ...

He is not sitting waiting to be served up on a platter as I fear Assange will be.

Call me Mr. Cynic but what's the betting the Costa Rican authorities had been handed a rather big bung (behind the scenes and fully justifiable as some sort of cultural grant if challenged) by the Japanese authorities to request his extradition, simply as a ruse to lay their hands on Mr. Watson?

Morally repugnant actions are perfectly acceptable provided you pursue them under the protection afforded by sovereign power within the International community but should you attempt anything as a private citizen that frustrates such activities you will feel the full force of state power come down upon you?

Double standards?

If he breaks Maritime Law he deserves to pay.

Risking his life to save whales is nearly heroic but to threaten others while doing so is a bit out of order. He should man up and stand trial for the alleged offences.

Nope, he's not being prosecuted for disrupting Legal whaling acivities ( go read the ICRW )
He was arrested for maritime offences in Costa rica and waiting to see if Costa rica followed through on an interpol arrest warrant - all up in the air now as he's gone walkies..

I love sea Shepherd and paul Watson , he is a visionary and an heroic human. His actions are entirely appropriate in a time of anthropogenic mass-extinction.

This is a similar situation to South Africa under apartheid, where the appropriate thing to do was to defy corrupt laws. I'm right behind him.

The shocking thing is that he was arrested in Germany at all. This is where the eyes of those interested in justice should be looking. How could this have happened?

What goes around comes around ....

what is going around is that humans are ending life on earth on the largest scale- we are the equivalent of a giant meteor hitting a green and highly biodiverse planet, plunging it into an ice-age.

what is coming around after that happens, sea Sheep?

what is coming around for illegally killed whales, sharks finned alive then tossed to slowly die agonisingly by the millions, baby seals clubbed to death at their mothers teats in Namibian Nature reserves RIGHT NOW. ( seal clubbing season has just started, funded by the multi millionairre Yatez Hatem)

What is coming round for these innocents, protected, ironically, by the law, eh?

This is not exactly a surprise.

I am only surprised the Germans gave him bail in the first place.

This is humiliating for the German authorities of course, and an embarrassment for the German green party who were putting the pressure on to stop the extradition and financial loss for the supporters who put up the €250,000 bail bond, which of course now will be forfeited.

I can not see the Germans forgiving and forgetting any time soon.

I might up my donations.

I fear you are defending poachers here, Sheep

'May 13th 2012: Captain Watson is arrested at Frankfurt airport in Germany on a warrant issued by Costa Rica on charges of endangering the lives of fishermen in April 2002.

The incident in 2002 did not cause any injuries or property damage and resulted from an intervention against a shark fin poaching operation in Guatemalan waters by a Costa Rican vessel Varadero I, that had been convicted of poaching in the Galapagos Islands in 2001. The Guatemalan government authorized the intervention and the entire incident was filmed for the award-winning film Sharkwater.

it all sounds very trumped up- the charges that is, and there is filmed evidence to prove so.

Why are you defending corruption?

What is going around is that Watson did not have the courage of his so called convictions to face charges brought against him - he's taken the cowards way out and gone on the run.

Tell me, how do you find the fact that someone ( Watson ) claims to uphold international law when he conducts his "actions " , yet runs from the law ? Don't you find that hypocritical in the extreme?

Feel free to point out where illegal whaling is going on and cite which laws are broken ... be my guest.

Yes, I'm going to up my standing order too

it all sounds very trumped up- the charges that is, and there is filmed evidence to prove so.
Why are you defending corruption?

If he is innocent then he has nothing to worry about or? Yet he chooses to forfeit €250,000 euro ( of donated money presumably ) to run from the law .. uhuh ... right

Cellarman and padav, you need to understand the implications here rather than spouting off. The reality is the German authorities have been extremely spineless to allow the extradition a hearing at all. It is widely acknowledged that the charges are a stitch up, made by the crew of an illegal shark finning operation following arrest (!) and that if sent to that country Watson would have to spend an indeterminate amount of time in their penal system awaiting trial, where there have already been a number of very credible death threats made on him by BIG illegal fishing interests. Germany new this and did not stand up for his safety. Japan are now jumping on the band wagon because they see an opportunity to finish him off. The system in this case is working thoroughly against the good for the sake of the bad. The guy is under serious threat from very unscrupulous groups who are mixed up in all kinds of illegal activities and protected via bribes and threat of violence.

Hi Mr. Cynic,

Serious allegation there, any proff to back it up ?

December 8th 2011. The Japanese Institute for Cetacean Research files suit against the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society demanding an injunction to stop Sea Shepherd vessels from disrupting illegal Japanese whaling operations in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Sea Shepherd is served legal papers on December 9th, 2011.

we all know that the Scientific killing of whales is guise for procuring whalemeat that then enters the market.

why are you defending corruption?

In addition the way the whales are killed, by having grenades shot into them to die slow agonising deaths over hours is really really medieval in its inhumanity and brutality,

Such treatment meted out to industrially farmed animals would be deemed illegal.

why are you defending this gross cruelty?

any proof that you are not a paid PR entity?

Woah there shipmatey, you make many incredible allegations.

How about something approaching evidence to support your view?

any proof that you are not a paid PR entity?

I've already stated that I having nothing to gain and am not involved with any PR numerous times - still doesn't stop those with no arguements claiming otherwise though - It seems to be beyond any Animal rights supporter to be able to understand than someone may have a different viewpoint to them.

No need for me to ask you the same question of course :op

Do you remember when the Japanese whaling ship drove into the Sea Shepherd boat Ady Gil, sinking it?

this was videod. What do you think about that?

I know he is not everybody's "cup of tea" but I would have more repect for the German authorities if they put pressure on countries such as JAPAN who are quite happy to continue slaughtering whales and calling it "research"....
Forgive me for this but whilst the Japanese continue to hunt whales, I dont give hoot what happens to their country both economically or environmentally..sorry thats how I feel about whaling in 2012.

we all know that the Scientific killing of whales is guise for procuring whalemeat that then enters the market.

I don't, care to point out where scientific whaling is illegal as you claim? no rush ...

Why are you defending a wanted man on the run from the law ? :o)

methinks the lady doth protest too much

You mean the video where the ady gill accelerated into the path of the ship? It's clearly seen on the video ... Did you actually read the result of the maritime inquiry before you spouted this SS BS?

Top television.

Mess about with a bigger boat at sea and you'll come a cropper.

I thought it was nearly heroic, bloody stupid and certainly not proven it was the whaler was at fault.

You are a glass half empty kinda one aren't you. Lots of energy 'defending the implacability of international/extradition law' as though it were fool proof in every measure? Do you only defend what is written in law??? Big Picture

As a ship captain, I fully support Captain Watson's decision.

The issue is saving the whales and, more generally, the environment. These legal proceedings are a joke and I would not wish to end up in a Costa Rican jail for helping humanity either.

By comparison, Bush and Blair, who lied to the whole world and whose actions led to the slaughter of over 600,000 people in Iraq, are not facing any prosecutor anywhere.....

Big business is fighting to keep its hold on the profitable destruction of the planet. We should all resist if we want our children to still be able to live properly.

Assange and now Watson.
Which icon next to try and evade the legal system - Blair?

You are a glass half empty kinda one aren't you. Lots of energy 'defending the implacability of international/extradition law' as though it were fool proof in every measure? Do you only defend what is written in law??? Big Picture

Fact - Watson was held under an arrest warrant from Costa rica by german auhorities
Fact - Watson spent 70 days reporting each day to police in Hessen under the terms of his €250,000 bail
Fact - Watson is now on the run and presumably has forfeited €250,000 bail from presumably donated money from supporters.
Fact - Watson claims his mandate to do the things he does is from international law.
Fact - The only ones claiming his life is in mortal danger if he is extradited to Costa rica is .. wait for it .... Sea shepherd .. uhuh
Fact - Watson ( via Sea shepherd ) claims this is likely all a Japanese plot to get him and that he might be extradited further to Japan - where, he would also face possible charges.

Now, please point out if I missed any facts ( as oppossed to some consiracy theory )

If he's innocent, he has nothing to worry about - so why's he done a runner? who knows? Perhaps he's started to believe his own PR? ....

@Seasheep:

"If he is innocent then he has nothing to worry about..."

AAARGH!! Statements like that make me mad!! Let's look at all the miscarriages of justice where innocent people have served long prison sentences or even been executed before their innocence was eventually proven.

Quite apart from that, how about the very real possibility that Costa Rica will extradite Watson to Japan, where he will face charges of interfering with Japanese whaling operations... operations illegal under international law, but seen as perfectly fine by Japanese culture. Do you really believe all the whales whose flesh ends up on Japanese dinner plates were really killed (in very cruel manner) for "scientific research"?

Oh look, another episode in the Paul Watson show.

I'll back seasheep (as an international lawyer educated in Scotland, Belgium, Canada and Iceland) and say that the JARPA2 is not violation of international law. But we can all await the outcome of the Australian case against Japan at the ICJ on that.
http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=1&code=aj&case=148&k=64

I very much doubt it will ever reach the merits. The Australian arguments haven't been released in full, but their application is thinner than loo roll and about as likely to hold water. I don't imagine it will ever reach the merits.

Quite apart from that, how about the very real possibility that Costa Rica will extradite Watson to Japan, where he will face charges of interfering with Japanese whaling operations... operations illegal under international law

Why are they illegal? and under which law? Go read the ICRW, come back and explain why Japanese whaling is illegal and cite the particular LAW .. Be my guest ...

Do you really believe all the whales whose flesh ends up on Japanese dinner plates were really killed (in very cruel manner) for "scientific research"?

You do know that it's a requirement of their Scientific permit that the meat be sold? ... do you?

Any way, back to Watson, Do you think he feels that he's above the Law? Or perhaps he thinks that laws don't apply to him? ....

Good luck to him. Welcome at my place any time.

'AAARGH!! Statements like that make me mad!! Let's look at all the miscarriages of justice where innocent people have served long prison sentences or even been executed before their innocence was eventually proven.'

OK - Name seventeen instances of injustice against an international celebrity

Scientific whaling - not illegal, but perhaps immoral.
Should we protest? Yes.
Should we weaken our protests by skipping out on the justice system? - No

Can you imagine the impact of a biased (sic) prosecution in Japan? Would whaling be brought under more scrutiny, or less?

Sorry; he's nowt but a self promoting jerk. And his action will not lessen the time to when whaling is banned.

For those interested in the law (and I'll fess up and admit that most environmentalist/savethewhalers don't give a flying about the law) here is my c200 word summary of the Oz v Japan case pending at the ICJ:

Australia’s strongest argument is that Japan has not applied International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), Article VIII in good faith. Australia will claim that the principal objective of JARPA II is not science but commercial gain (compare Schedule 7(b)&10(e)). Evidence includes the quantity of whale meat on the Japanese market and the profits enjoyed by the industry – thus meeting the definition of “commercial”. To win on this point, Australia must overcome Art VIII(2) which requires the carcasses of whales scientifically taken to be “processed” and explicitly acknowledges “proceeds.” The case may hinge on factual submissions regarding: industry profits; research funding; and alternative, cost-effective, non-lethal means of obtaining the same scientific knowledge. Japan will counter that true commercial whaling would be on a much larger scale. It is unlikely that the Court will second-guess Japan’s motives.

Australia’s alternative arguments on sustainability of stocks and on the Convention on Biological Diversity are weak, since there is no imminent risk (let alone damage) to minke stocks from JARPA II; nor will the Court dare open the door to assessment of other marine stocks. Japan does not take humpback whales and there can be no claim based on a hypothetical violation (application para. 12) and only the humpback is CITES listed. International Whaling Commission resolutions are not binding and cannot be the basis of a legal claim.

It must be getting crowded in the Ecuadorian embassy

Excellent summary Rxxx,

The case may hinge on factual submissions regarding: industry profits; research funding; and alternative, cost-effective, non-lethal means of obtaining the same scientific knowledge.

Seeing as Jarpa has run at a loss since it's inception, that rather knocks the industry profirs part for six.

Regarding the non lethal means methods :

Martin Cawthorn is a scientist, writer and member of the IWC scientific committee in Plimmerton, a seaside village just outside New Zealand's capital city. While some New Zealanders argue that the Japanese can do their scientific research from genetic sampling, he says, they "would change or modify their opinion" if they had any idea how difficult it is to gather such information in the Antarctic region.

Personally, I think Oz is on a hiding to nothing and I'm not alone in that regard ..

here's one you missed:

Fact - the world needs a lot more Paul Watsons

here's one you missed:
Fact - the world needs a lot more Paul Watsons

LoL .. in the pokey maybe :op

Courage? What do you know about courage? What have you done in your life for a greater cause than your own insignificant existence. Oh is it courageous to write comments slighting leaders who are trying to make the world a better place. You are obviously ignorant of the legal battles and illegalities affecting marine sanctuaries and fisheries globally. If you understood the illegalities conducted by the Japanese Governemnt and the corrupt nature of the Costa Rican government then maybe you would not make inept statements. Pathetic.

Courage? What do you know about courage? What have you done in your life for a greater cause than your own insignificant existence.

More than you will ever know and whats more, I take responsibility for my actions ... unlike Watson - nice Ad- hominem though, keep it up..

You are obviously ignorant of the legal battles and illegalities affecting marine sanctuaries and fisheries globally. If you understood the illegalities conducted by the Japanese Governemnt and the corrupt nature of the Costa Rican government then maybe you would not make inept statements

I'll repeat : Please tell us what is illegal about japanese Scientific whaling - or for that matter, Norwegian and Icelandic whaling.

Cite references and show us all exactly what is illegal and under which laws - otherwise, I'm afraid we'll have to draw our own conclusions as to where the pathetic ignorance is to be found ;o)

Anyway back to Watson - Rxxx - whats your legal opinion on this - is it likely that Germany wil / can add an arrest warrant Via interpol for the guy? Could he be re-arrested in any of the schengen countries?
If so, he's unlikely to be able to enter the schengen area again or?

Honestly... this doesn't surprise me. I used to be a fan of Whale Wars myself... but then I realized the truth.
Paul Watson is not a hero nor someone to idolize. He is just corrupt and crooked as the Japanese Whalers.

Awhile back I started doing some minor digging into the sea shepherd organization. Sea Shepherd partakes in many controversial acts, not just related to their animal defense activities. Their organization is one of the few non-profit organizations based within the United States that does not provide a direct link to their "spending charts" (or where the money is going) on their website. Whenever a company (especially a non-profit organization) is not transparent it sends red flags.

Moreover I believe money plays a major role in Paul Watson's decision making. He says its all for the animals... but it's hard for an individual to really uphold that claim when he is making more income than a vast majority of people. It's just a hunch... but I believe his decision to leave Greenpeace and start Sea Shepherds also was due to money disputes. Wouldn't surprise me in the least bit.

Stay safe Paul.... we remember how wonderful you are, stuff the Germans and the Japanese and everyone else who exploits and kills creatures for power, profit and greed causing intolerable cruelty

I`m sure Captain Watson considered all the possibilities before he decided upon this course.
It is obvious that Germany was being used by Costa Rica, their current cosy relations with Japan would have ensured his subsequent extradition to that whale poaching country.
As the greatest environmentalist of his time Paul Watson will have the support of millions all over the world. He is responsible for opening people`s eyes to the atrocities committed by nations to the oceans and its inhabitants.
The real criminals are out there destroying our environment and making millions so anyone who opposes them becomes a target of their tremendous power and influence.
I, too will be making a special donation to Sea Shepherd this month.

Oz haven't got much chance of winning their day in Court; but that's not the point. It's a very tabloid-friendly step for the Ozzie government domestically and even if they lose in the Hague, they will be "heroes" for trying and you can expect the usual vitriol against the Court for not agreeing with all the right-thinking Ozzies. The Blue Fin Tuna case (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) a did give them some hope though as the ITLOS gave a ruling on provisional measures, telling them to cooperate on the quota and to suspend research fishing.

BUT the ITLOS is a far cry from the ICJ which is much more conservative (e.g. they did NOT permit provisional measures in the 2010 Pulp Mills case, also an environmental case about a Uruguayan paper mill allegedly polluting Argentina and a shared waterway).

I just can't make any reading of the ICRW - not Convention for the Regulation of WHALING (as an activity) not for the protection of whales - that backs Oz. My "summary" was the best I could come up.

PS: I don't know anything about extradition law so I'll withhold comment on that!

Sea Shepherd On The Lam

They seek him here, they seek him there
Those Germans seek him everywhere
Is he in Japan or is he in Norway?
That demned elusive Sea Shepherd

With apologies to Baroness Emmuska Orczy