14 DAY TRIAL // Members of green group Sea Shepherd and their supporters have reasons to celebrate. Yesterday, the organization's founder, Captain Paul Watson, returned to the US after spending several months in exile at sea.
A picture showing the Captain together with the people who welcomed him back to the country is made available next to this article. Robert Kennedy, Jr., who is a supporter of the organization, is also present in the picture.
As previously reported, Captain Paul Watson was left with no choice except move to a temporary ocean home after the Interpol issued a Red Notice for him on behalf of both Costa Rica and Japan.
Earlier this year, in January, the Captain was also ordered by the US Court of Appeals to keep his distance from the Japanese whaling fleet and, in response to this order, Paul Watson quit his position as a leader of the organization.
Ecorazzi tells us that, although Costa Rica's Interpol Red Notice for the captain has been lifted, the charges filed against Sea Shepherd's founder by Japanese whalers are still standing.
Captain Paul Watson is expected to soon make an appearance in court and defend himself against them.
“I have returned to the United States. The Interpol Red Notice from Costa Rica has been dropped. I will challenge the Japan notice in the U.S. if required.”
“Heading to Seattle to defend Sea Shepherd and myself from the SLAPP civil suit launched by the Japanese whalers. We carry on with our efforts to save the oceans, undeterred and undaunted,” the captain wrote on Facebook.
When asked about how life at sea treated him, he said that, unlike the prison he would have been sent to if he remained on land, the one he voluntarily put himself in was not all that bad.
“Well it’s a pretty nice prison. It’s you know – I don’t mind being on the ocean. It’s a beautiful place and certainly the citizens out here tend to be more peaceful,” he reportedly told the press.