Hollywood star Darryl Hannah and Paul Watson in 2008. Source: Flickr

SAN JOSE – Paul Watson, the contentious environmentalist and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, may have left Germany -according to a news report written by Hulda Miranda of prominent newspaper La Nacion. Mr. Watson had been in Germany since May 13^th, after he was arrested in Frankfurt by law enforcement officers who acted based on an Interpol Blue Notice requesting his extradition to Costa Rica. Mr. Watson was in custody for a few days until he made bail in the amount of 250,000 euros.

The report on La Nacion explains that the Office of Judicial Investigations in Costa Rica (OIJ) was notified of Mr. Watson’s apparent departure from Germany by Interpol. Don Francisco Segura, director of OIJ, explained that Mr. Watson sent an e-mail to Don Federico Morales, his Tico criminal defense attorney, in which he mentioned that he was no longer in Germany. It is not clear if Mr. Watson’s electronic correspondence was being monitored by law enforcement, or if it was protected by attorney-client privilege as is the case in various jurisdictions.

Mr. Morales, however, is not in agreement with the communication between Interpol and OIJ, as he had being in Germany meeting with Mr. Watson on Friday and Saturday. He told La Nacion that it was all a fallacy, and he reiterated his client’s willingness to answer to the charges filed against him by prosecutors in Costa Rica.

Blue Notices versus Red Notices

This is not the first time that an action by the Interpol regarding Mr. Watson has made headlines. Back in March, an Interpol written statement was sent out to 190 member nations regarding its decision to not publish a Red Notice seeking the arrest of Mr. Watson after its Office of Legal Affairs found that the request was not in compliance. A day after Mr. Watson’s arrest in Frankfurt, a press release by Interpol ratified the organization’s position. An Interpol Red Notice is essentially an alert to member countries that an individual is wanted by a jurisdiction, but it is not an arrest warrant per se.

Mr. Watson was the subject of an Interpol Blue Notice, which serves the purpose of locating, identifying or obtaining information on a person of interest in a criminal investigation. Such was the case of Mr. Watson and the 2002 incident involving the Sea Shepherd vessel Ocean Warrior (later known as the RV Farley Mowat) and the Varadero II, a fishing vessel registered in Costa Rica. The Tico fishermen crew of the Varadero claim that Mr. Watson steered the Ocean Warrior against their boat with the intent of ramming and causing a shipwreck. Mr. Watson claims that the vessels collided and that the Varadero crew was engaged in shark finning at the time.

Another Publicity Stunt?

Mr. Watson is a very media-savvy individual. He is not only the star of the reality television hit Whale Wars, which has attracted many viewers to the cable network Animal Planet, he has been known to attract the support of celebrities with his direct action efforts to protect marine life at almost all costs. There is a chance that the news of his alleged violation of bail conditions in Germany could be a way to gather media attention. It seems to be working.

Michelle A. Estlund, a Miami-based expert attorney whose practice is focused on human rights issues an d Interpol Red Notice defense, has written about Mr. Watson’s ordeal on a couple of occasions. In May of 2011, she made the following comment:

“The only person, at least that I am aware of, who was ever happy to be the subject of a Blue Notice was Paul Watson, the head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. He blogged about the Blue Notice in his name, which was issued based upon his anti-whaling activities in Japan, and rightly stated that “you can’t buy this kind of recognition.” Take note, anti-establishment activists: Blue Notice = free publicity.”

A year later, Ms. Estlund revisited the subject with the following comment:

“Last year, Mr. Watson recognized the fact that a level of publicity followed a publicized Blue Notice. Since his arrest, he and his cause have received the support of several celebrities and organizations that he may not have anticipated prior to his arrest. John Paul Dejoria, co-founder of Paul Mitchell, Brigitte Bardot, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have all made public pleas for his release and support.”

Should Mr. Watson really be at large, he may have to answer to new charges of violating a judge’s order, and the future of Whale Wars is now even more uncertain than it was on Friday night, when the last episode of Season 5, “Target Acquired” was broadcast on Animal Planet. On Sunday night, The Costa Rica Star speculated on what Whale Wars without Mr. Watson would be like -it just would not be the same, although the work of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will probably continue thanks to his legacy.