Russia charges five Greenpeace activists with piracy
AFP
October 2, 2013, 11:32 pm
Moscow (AFP) - Russian investigators on Wednesday charged five Greenpeace campaigners with piracy over an open-sea protest against Arctic oil drilling, the environmental group said, calling the move an "outrage".
The charge against the activists -- a Briton, a Finn, a Brazilian, a Russian and a dual US-Swedish citizen -- dimmed hopes that 25 others detained over the protest could be indicted on a lesser charge.
Piracy by an organised group carries a punishment of between 10 and 15 years.
A spokeswoman for the Moscow-based Investigative Committee declined to provide details of the charges, confirming only that the activists from the group's Dutch-flagged Arctic Sunrise icebreaker detained for two months were being charged.
Greenpeace called the charges "extreme and disproportionate."
"This is an outrage and represents nothing less than an assault on the very principle of peaceful protest," Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said.
"Any claim that these activists are pirates is as absurd as it is abominable. It is utterly irrational, it is designed to intimidate and silence us, but we will not be cowed."
He said the charges represented the "most serious threat" to environmental activism since the group's ship Rainbow Warrior was bombed and sunk by French special services in New Zealand in 1985.
The charges of piracy came despite President Vladimir Putin's statements last week that the activists "of course are not pirates." He however said that they did break the law by protesting dangerously close to an oil rig.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP Wednesday that Putin had expressed his personal opinion.
"He is not an investigator, nor a prosecutor, judge or defence lawyer."
Among those already charged were Brazil's Ana Paula Alminhana Maciel, British freelance videographer Kieron Bryan, and Finnish activist Sini Saarela, who was one of the climbers who attempted to scale a Russian oil platform.
The other two charged were spokesman Dmitri Litvinov, a dual US and Swedish citizen, and Russia's Roman Dolgov.
Greenpeace says it will appeal and turn to the European Court of Human Rights.
Russian investigators accused the activists of piracy after several of them tried to scale state energy giant Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya oil platform in the northern Barents Sea last month.
The group has denied the charges and accused Russia of illegally boarding its ship in international waters.
The 30 activists from 18 countries are being held in pre-trial detention centres in the cities of Murmansk and Apatity, which are nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) north of Moscow and above the Arctic Circle.
All but four of them are non-Russians from countries including Britain, the United States, Finland and Argentina.
The Arctic Sunrise crew members are "close to shock" over their conditions in their jails, an activist said.
They have complained of cold, smoke-filled cells, and a lack of suitable clothing and food, Irina Paikacheva, the head of a state-linked prisoners' rights watchdog, told AFP.
The Dutch government last month called on Moscow to release the activists immediately and said it was considering legal action.
The arrests have also sparked outrage from rights activists.
"It is a Kafkaesque story," Tanya Lokshina, deputy head of Human Rights Watch in Russia, told AFP. "We could not have imagined this is possible."
Greenpeace held a similar protest at the same oil platform last year without incurring any punishment.
The unusually tough charges are likely to generate new controversy as Russia gears up to host the Winter Olympics in February already overshadowed by claims of gay rights abuse.
Since returning to the Kremlin for a third term as president last year, Putin has sought to re-assert his control over the country after huge protests in winter 2011-12.
Last month, Putin lambasted the West and pledged to fiercely protect Russia from foreign influence, saying its sovereignty and independence were "red lines" that could not be crossed.
On Saturday, a pro-Kremlin NTV channel broadcast a smear documentary claiming Greenpeace served US corporate interests and made huge profits staging protests against Russian rather than US industries.
Incredible moment Russian security services abseiled from helicopter and seized Greenpeace ship at gunpoint as arrested Briton faces 15 years for PIRACY
Videographer faces piracy charge with a maximum sentence of 15 years
Kieron Bryan, 29, had been hired by Greenpeace to document their cause
All 30 people onboard the ship, including six Britons have been arrested
Arrests come after protests against oil drilling in Russian Arctic last week
By SARA MALM PUBLISHED: 10:45 GMT, 2 October 2013 | UPDATED: 12:09 GMT, 2 October 2013
This is the moment heavily armed Russian coast guards storm a Greenpeace ship to arrest dozens of activists after a protest at an Arctic oil rig. A video shows members of the security service entering the ship, holding passengers and crew at gunpoint and seizing control of the ship before arresting all on board.The 30 activists taken into custody include six Britons, one of whom faces 15 years in Russian prison on piracy charges.
Seized: One of the activists on the ship managed to film the Russian coast guard entering the ship with drawn weapons on a mobile phone
British freelance videographer Kieron Bryan, 29, from Devon, has been charged with piracy alongside a Brazilian crew member, which could lead to 15 years behind bars if he is convicted.Mr Bryan's parents have said they are ‘extremely worried’ about their son, who had been hired by Greenpeace to document the organisation's work on Russian oil exploration in the Arctic Circle.
Andy and Ann Bryan, from Shebbear in Devon, said: ‘Our son is a very kind, caring individual and environmental issues have always been very close to his heart.‘He would sympathise with the cause but he was simply there doing his job as a freelance videographer.’The Greenpeace team had been in the remote Pechora Sea in the Russian Arctic, near to Russian oil company Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya oil platform to try and prevent attempts to drill for oil in the region.
Under siege: Russian coast guards board the Greenpeace ship the Arctic Sunrise, following a protest by activists at a Russian oil platform in the Pechora Sea, off the coast of Russia.
Arms in the air: All 30 crew members and activists were taken into custody, including six Brits, one of whom now faces 15 years in prison charged with piracy
The campaigners said they expected charges to be brought against other activists. Britons Frank Hewetson, a long term activist with the environmental group, and Anthony Perrett have already been remanded in custody on suspicion of piracy following court appearances. Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo condemned the move to charge Mr Bryan and crew member Ana Paula Alminhana.‘A charge of piracy is being laid against men and women whose only crime is to be possessed of a conscience,’ he said.
Facing time: Freelance videographer Kieron Bryan, 29, from Devon, has been charged with piracy by Russian state prosecutors, a charge which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years
‘This is an outrage and represents nothing less than an assault on the very principle of peaceful protest. Any claim that these activists are pirates is as absurd as it is abominable. ‘It is utterly irrational, it is designed to intimidate and silence us, but we will not be cowed.’ Last week, the American captain of Arctic Sunrise and several other activists were jailed.In court on Thursday, American captain Pete Willcox, along with three Russians, two New Zealanders, a Frenchman, a Canadian, a Pole and a Turk, were remanded in custody for two months. Authorities are looking into whether they could be charged with piracy, among other offenses.Under Russian law, prosecutors can ask a judge to detain people pending further investigation.
U.S. captain Peter Willcox (left) and boat mechanic Jonathon Beauchamp (right) are kept behind bars as they are remanded in custody for their involvement in the Greenpeace protest against a Russian oil drilling company
Jailed: Ten Greenpeace activists were remanded in custody by a Russian judge on Thursday, including Greenpeace spokesman Roman Dolgov (left) and protestor Dmitry Litvinov (right)
Russian judge Dmitry Krivonosov handed 10 Greenpeace activists two month jail sentences for their protest in Russian waters last week.
Three others were remanded for just three days while the fate of the remaining 17 protestors was still being decided.Greenpeace's executive director, Kumi Naidoo, slammed the judge's decision, insisting it is scare tactic to stop future protests.He said: 'The Russian authorities are trying to scare people who stand up to the oil industry in the Arctic, but this blatant intimidation will not succeed. 'During the raid on the ship on September 18, activists tweeted claims armed guards were attempting to kick down the door of the communications room.They also wrote: 'Latest from the deck: Crew are sitting on their knees on the helipad with guns pointed at them.'
These dramatic tweets from the Arctic Sunrise describe the moment armed Russian coastguard officials boarded the vessel
An armed coastguard points a gun at an activist aboard a Greenpeace boat as they attempted to disrupt the Russian oil drilling operation
The armed assault by the Russian coastguard on the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise came after activists attempted to board an oil platform to prevent it drilling in the Arctic
Water cannons were used to try and stop Greenpeace activists climbing onto the oil platform
A short time later, contact with the ship was lost, Greenpeace said.Two activists had already been arrested by the coastguard for a protest in which they scaled the Gazprom oil rig.The environmental group is campaigning against attempts by companies to extract oil from the waters of the Arctic, warning a spill would be highly environmentally damaging and that extraction of more fossil fuels will add to climate change.
Greenpeace said plans to start drilling from the Prirazlomnaya platform in the first quarter of 2014 raised the risk of an oil spill in an area that contains three nature reserves protected by Russian law. Activists previously occupied the same platform in August 2012. Ben Ayliffe, head of Greenpeace International's Arctic oil campaign, said: 'Drilling for oil here in the Arctic is a grave environmental risk that must be stopped and this is why Greenpeace International came here, taking peaceful action to defend the environment on behalf of the millions of people around the world who are opposed to drilling operations.'
