Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson can cross Germany off his "cannot visit" list.
The country has canceled the warrant for his arrest, because the Costa Rican government failed to meet the deadline for an explanation requested by the German govt [I guess the Costa Ricans failed to get their instructions from Japan in time!].
Watson's legal troubles have been well-documented, including skipping bail in Germany for fear of being extradited to Japan where he believes he'll never be released. The German arrest warrant followed Costa Rica's accusations of interference with their fishing vessels in 2002 - SS says they were undertaking an illegal shark-finning operation.
Even if he's no longer wanted in Germany, Watson says he'll remain at sea where he has been for seven months now, unless Oz assures him he won't be sent to Japan. The nasty Nippons have accused Watson and SS of interfering with their whaling operations, and their ships have been involved in skirmishes this season, notably a serious ramming of both an oil tanker and SS vessels by the factory ship Nisshin Maru (currently under investigation).
Watson says SS's anti-whaling campaign has been highly successful this season, claiming less than 75 whales were killed. Their ships Steve Irwin, Bob Barker and Sam Simon will be docking in Australia around 20 March, but probably without Watson on board. Oz Federal Police are expected to raid the SS ships upon arrival.
Watson plans to be back in the Southern Ocean next summer, regardless of any outcome in Australia's case against Japan's whaling at the International Court of Justice.
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| Happy chappy |
Watson's legal troubles have been well-documented, including skipping bail in Germany for fear of being extradited to Japan where he believes he'll never be released. The German arrest warrant followed Costa Rica's accusations of interference with their fishing vessels in 2002 - SS says they were undertaking an illegal shark-finning operation.
Even if he's no longer wanted in Germany, Watson says he'll remain at sea where he has been for seven months now, unless Oz assures him he won't be sent to Japan. The nasty Nippons have accused Watson and SS of interfering with their whaling operations, and their ships have been involved in skirmishes this season, notably a serious ramming of both an oil tanker and SS vessels by the factory ship Nisshin Maru (currently under investigation).
Watson says SS's anti-whaling campaign has been highly successful this season, claiming less than 75 whales were killed. Their ships Steve Irwin, Bob Barker and Sam Simon will be docking in Australia around 20 March, but probably without Watson on board. Oz Federal Police are expected to raid the SS ships upon arrival.Watson plans to be back in the Southern Ocean next summer, regardless of any outcome in Australia's case against Japan's whaling at the International Court of Justice.
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