Enrique Castillo, Chancellor of Costa Rica and Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with environmentalist and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Paul Watson in Stuttgart yesterday.

After the meeting, Chancellor Castillo gave a telephone interview to ADN Radio 90.7 in Costa Rica. The Chancellor told the radio station that Mr. Watson seems to be willing to come to Costa Rica and face the charges of reckless endangerment of a vessel at sea with the intent of causing a shipwreck.

“It was a calm meeting, very pleasant, with a friendly attitude, not hostile at all. He said he wants to clear up some misunderstandings. He is willing to go to Costa Rica and face the legal process.

He said he does not wish to have problems with the law, that he is open to face charges, and that he would go to Costa Rica anyway, even if he is not extradited.”

Chancellor Castillo explained to Mr. Watson that the government does not have the power to reach a deal with him due to the democratic separation of powers. The matter is in the hands of the Judicial branch, which the Executive cannot interfere with. Still, the Chancellor added that the Executive would extend good faith and encourage him to appear in court.

“The decision to extradite him is pending before German authorities, if they decide to extradite him we cannot interfere, but we can make sure that he receives proper treatment once in Costa Rica.”

For his part, Mr. Watson explained his impression of the meeting in a press release issued by the media arm of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society:

“The meeting was positive and Mr. Castillo was very open to finding a solution to both the situation regarding my arrest and to the possibility of working with Sea Shepherd to protect sharks and the integrity of the Cocos Island Marine Reserve.

Costa Rica needs only to assign a date for a trial and I will appear before the Costa Rican Court voluntarily, if given assurances that my safety will be guaranteed. There is no need for an extradition. All Costa Rica needs to do is make a request to appear.”

The 61-year old Mr. Watson was arrested on May 13^th in Frankfurt. He is now free on bail and fighting the extradition request. The charges against him emanate from an incident in 2002 in which he commanded the Sea Shepherd vessel Farley Mowat and allegedly steered the ship and endangered a fishing boat apparently involved in illegal shark finning operations. The incident did not occur in Costa Rica’s sovereign waters, but the Tico crew members claimed that Mr. Watson used a water cannon and pyrotechnic flares against them while they were adrift and performing mechanical repairs. Two out of the eight crew members claim they were injured.

In previous press releases and messages from prison, Mr. Watson and the Sea Shepherd organization have stated that an extradition to Costa Rica would be the equivalent of a death sentence, and that he feared a bounty had been issued on his life by a far-reaching Taiwanese shark finning mafia operating in the prison system of Costa Rica. In the meeting with Chancellor Castillo and the subsequent press release, Mr. Watson did not mention such concerns, although he is still worried about his safety.

Source: NTN24 and Sea Shepherd