Read this story from the Toronto Star on Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd’s arrest in Germany and possible extradition to Costa Rica over outstanding charges stemming from an alleged 2002 incident while confronting illegal shark finning activities of the coast of Guatemala. (May 18, 2012)

Animal rights and anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, facing extradition to Costa Rica for a decade-old attempted murder charge, will be released on bail from a Frankfurt jail next Monday.

German authorities arrested the Toronto-born president and founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society last Sunday on an international arrest warrant issued by Costa Rica.

In 2002, Watson allegedly tried to intimidate and kill the crew of a Costa Rican fishing boat, the Varadero, which Sea Shepherd said was illegally cutting shark fins off the coast of Guatemala.

Watson’s bail is set at 250,000 Euros (roughly $325,000), but must remain in Germany until the conclusion of the extradition proceedings, according to Frankfurt’s higher regional court.

The extradition case will now go before the Ministry of Justice, Sea Shepherd spokesman Peter Hammarstedt said.

Before he was arrested, Watson, 61, had been en route to Paris to promote the French-language book Interview with a Pirate, its author and Sea Shepherd France president Lamya Essemlali told the Star earlier this week.

In the days since Watson’s arrest, Sea Shepherd, known for its violent encounters with whalers and poachers, has waged a virulent campaign against its founder’s detainment and Costa Rica’s “bogus allegations.”

Captured on film and shown in the 2007 documentary Sharkwater, Watson’s boat confronted the Costa Rican poachers, spraying water from high-power hoses to frighten off the ship. The boats later collided, prompting claims Watson intentionally endangered the lives of crewmembers.

After reviewing the documentary footage, a Costa Rican judge dismissed the charges. They were re-issued in October, 2011.

Read original article: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1180744–paul-watson-granted-bail-as-sea-shepherd-founder-faces-extradition-to-costa-rica