Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson Imprisoned in Germany

I personally believe this is a crap situation considering the politics of the reason this is occurring! I was looking at bringing a group of 16 school kids to Costa Rica(CR) to run an "Educational Adventure Trip" based on marine conservation. The trip and others like it would bring thousands of dollars into the country and promote CR and its Green Image. Now I am not so sure that CR is the place for such a program.

I no longer wish to support this country (CR) if it promotes Shark-Fining and imprisoning Paul Watson for acts done in Guatemala (of all places) in the name of conservation and sustainable fishing. Read the article below yourself and make your decision on the situation.

I believe Germany should get it's nose out of this and set Paul Watson free, and CR should BAN shark-fining, and support anti poaching!

 

 Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson Imprisoned in Germany

by Angela May 17th, 2012  original article HERE

Photo by John: Flickr

Toronto-born animal activist, star of the reality show Whale Wars, and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Paul Watson is currently being detained by German officials as he faces possible extradition to Costa Rica on the basis of a 2002 maritime violation. Watson was arrested this past weekend at the Frankfurt International Airport due to the 10-year-old Costa Rican warrant, and should learn tomorrow whether or not he’ll be extradited at the country’s request.
According to a statement from Watson posted on the Sea Shepherd website, the “extradition request was in reference to a complaint from Costa Rican fishermen who I caught poaching in Guatemalan waters. The fishermen were not injured and their boat was not damaged… Interpol originally denied this extradition order and deemed it as politically motivated.”
Sea Shepherd maintains that Watson cannot possibly hope to have a fair trial in Costa Rica, where the country’s illegal shark-fining mafia could also try to do him personal harm. The environmental group is calling on the German government to dismiss the case and deny the extradition request. They have set up a donation form for the Free Paul Watson fund, which will help support the legal defense and public education. They also ask supporters to appeal directly to the German Ministry of Justice, and ask them to deny the extradition request.