Paul Watson Held in Germany

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eteran anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson has been arrested in Germany on charges relating to an incident from 2002, in which the boat he was commandeering attempted to stop poachers who were illegally killing sharks. Paul Watson has been detained at Frankfurt airport in response to a court-ordered extradition from Costa Rica. The charge: "violating ship traffic."

Watson has been detained in response to a court-ordered extradition from Costa Rica.

Watson's chargers were dismissed at the time, when Costa Rican authorities watched a video of the incident. However, after a new prosecutor was appointed, the charges were reinvestigated. In 2002, he was charged with attempted murder after crew on the Costa Rican ship the Varadero accused Watson of trying to ram their boat.

Watson was arrested on May 12.

 A statement regarding the situation read, "A fisherman accused Paul of trying to kill him, although it is evident that Paul did not and that evidence is on film. He said the warrant dates back to an event in 2002."

It's unclear why the warrant was reissued, but Watson was scheduled to appear in court this week.