Jailed Greenpeace activist clings to hope

[Untouchables]

Jailed Greenpeace activist clings to hope

AAP
Alex Diaz - October 20, 2013, 7:54 am

Greenpeace activist Alexandra Harris has been denied bail following a month in Russian prison. EPA

A British environmental campaigner facing 15 years in a Russian jail for alleged piracy says she is "trying very, very hard not to lose hope".

Greenpeace activist Alexandra Harris has been denied bail following a month in prison for her part in a protest against oil company Gazprom's platform in the Arctic's Pechora Sea.

She is one of the 30 people detained when armed Russian officials boarded their vessel, the Arctic Sunrise, last month.

Those arrested include citizens of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, France, Sweden, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine and the US.

In a handwritten letter to her parents, the 27-year-old said: "I'm worried about what's going to happen.

"I have moments of feeling panicky but then I try to tell myself there's nothing I can do from in here and what will be will be so it's pointless worrying.

"But it's hard. Surely my future isn't rotting in a prison in Murmansk?! Well, I really hope it isn't."

Appearing in court for her bail hearing on Friday, Harris protested her innocence and said she was proud of Greenpeace's "non-violent, peaceful efforts" to stop oil drilling in the Arctic.

"The only thing that happened was a peaceful protest and I believe the footage and Greenpeace's long history can demonstrate this," she said.

"I'd also like to say that the protest was not directed at Russia - it was solely about Arctic oil and the threat it poses to the climate and the Arctic environment."

Greenpeace says it will not be "daunted" by the piracy charges the environmental campaigners are facing, as supporters held a candlelight vigil in London to mark their 30th day in prison.

The "Arctic 30" and their boat were taken from waters near the port of Murmansk on September 19 after two of them tried to board the rig.