Foreign Ministry to send Paul Watson extradition request to German authorities Tuesday

The Foreign Ministry will send a formal request Tuesday to the German government for the extradition of embattled ocean activist Paul Watson, the daily La Nación reported.

Watson, founder and president of the group Sea Shepherd, was arrested in Germany on May 13 on charges stemming from a 2002 high-seas confrontation between Watson’s ship and a Costa Rican fishing vessel, the Varadero I, allegedly illegally finning sharks off the coast of Guatemala. Watson was released on bail and has remained in Germany awaiting extradition orders from Costa Rica. Watson has claimed that a $20,000 contract has been taken out on his head for his activities against poachers and illegal shark finning, and that he could be killed if extradited to Costa Rica (TT, May 20).

The Foreign Ministry will submit the extradition request along with the accusation of attempted shipwrecking to Costa Rican diplomats in Germany to be presented to authorities there, La Nación reported.