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| Greenpeace activists charged with piracy by Russian authorities | Greenpeace activists charged with piracy by Russian authorities |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Russian authorities have formally charged 14 Greenpeace activists with piracy, with a further 16 facing similar charges. | |
| Those charged included four British nationals. Kieron Bryan, a freelance videographer, along with Alexandra Harris, Philip Ball and Anthony Perrett, were charged with "piracy as part of an organised group". They each face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty. | |
| Among others charged were Ana Paula Alminhana, from Brazil; Dmitri Litvinov, a Swedish-American; Sini Saarela, from Finland; and Roman Dolgov, from Russia, according to Greenpeace. | |
| They are among 30 people from 18 different countries who were travelling on board the Arctic Sunrise, a Greenpeace ship that last month mounted a protest against the Prirazlomnaya oil rig. The drilling platform, in the Pechora Sea, is operated by the Russian energy firm Gazprom. | |
| As two activists tried to scale the platform, Russian border guards descended on to the boat from helicopters. The Arctic Sunrise was then escorted back to Murmansk, north-west Russia, with those on board kept under armed guard. | |
| All 30 activists were remanded in custody for up to two months while investigators looked into the charges. Prosecutors are expected to lay charges against all 30 during the next couple of days. | All 30 activists were remanded in custody for up to two months while investigators looked into the charges. Prosecutors are expected to lay charges against all 30 during the next couple of days. |
| The executive director of Greenpeace International, Kumi Naidoo, said the decision by Russian authorities to charge the activists represented "the most serious threat to Greenpeace's peaceful environmental activism" since the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985. | |
| The captain of the Arctic Sunrise, American Peter Willcox, was also the captain of Rainbow Warrior at the time. He is being held in Murmansk but has not yet been charged. | |
| "A charge of piracy is being laid against men and women whose only crime is to be possessed of a conscience," said Naidoo. "Any claim that these activists are pirates is as absurd as it is abominable." | "A charge of piracy is being laid against men and women whose only crime is to be possessed of a conscience," said Naidoo. "Any claim that these activists are pirates is as absurd as it is abominable." |
| The charges also come after Vladimir Putin said it was "completely obvious" that the activists were not pirates. The Russian president did, however, accuse them of breaking the law and said that the authorities had no way of knowing whether they were terrorists or not and were thus forced to act. | The charges also come after Vladimir Putin said it was "completely obvious" that the activists were not pirates. The Russian president did, however, accuse them of breaking the law and said that the authorities had no way of knowing whether they were terrorists or not and were thus forced to act. |
| Greenpeace claims that more than a million people have written messages to Russian embassies across the world in support of its activists. | Greenpeace claims that more than a million people have written messages to Russian embassies across the world in support of its activists. |
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