Greenpeace activists threatened to 7 years in prison for hooliganism. Support them!

Some 30 Greenpeace activists were detained by Russian security forces who boarded the group’s ship, the „Arctic Sunrise“, late last Thursday. According to the activists, the security officials were armed with guns which they fired into the air and water, as well as knives which they used to slash inflatable boats. They rounded up the ship’s crew at gunpoint and reportedly smashed up the radio room which is used for communications.

The activists had been protesting against Arctic drilling near Prirazlomnaya, a drilling platform in the Pechora Sea, close to the Novaya Zemlya archipelago off Russia’s northern coast.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, a state agency responsible for the investigation of serious crimes, said in a statement that it had opened a piracy investigation against the detained activists. International law defines piracy as illegal acts of violence or detention, or raids committed for private gain.

“There’s very little question that unarmed Greenpeace activists are not pirates,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International. “Charges of piracy are manifestly unfounded in this case – having no basis in law or reality – and it’s profoundly damaging to level such serious charges so carelessly. The Greenpeace activists must be released on a reasonable bail and given full access to defence lawyers, pending any possible trial.”