Russia Considers Piracy Charges Against Greenpeace

credit: Rose/AP

Update: A Russian court has granted bail to three Greenpeace crew members--the ship's Russian doctor, a Russian photographer, and a press spokesperson. Bail was set at $61,200 for each. A separate court in St. Petersburg denied bail to an Australian citizen who participated in the protest. Twenty-seven activists are still in jail. More may be released soon, but it is not clear if foreign nationals will be allowed to leave Russia.   The reduced charge of "hooliganism" carries a heavy seven year maximum. Hooliganism entered the English language at the end of the 19th Century when a south London gang, the "Hooligan boys" gained notoriety. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle later used the term in one of his Sherlock Holmes stories, "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons". In Russia, "khuligan" refers to scofflaws and political dissenters and the charge is used by prosecutors as a catch-all for criminalizing unapproved behavior. Russia refused to participate in a Law of the Sea arbitration demanded by the Arctic Sunrise's nation of registry, Denmark. Russian authorities dismissed the request saying it does not have to participate in legal disputes concerning "sovereign rights and jurisdiction". Earlier, Greenpeace introduced satellite data showing its ship was outside the 500 meter exclusion zone around the Prirazlomnaya platform.

Latest: {24.10.13}Russian authorities have reduced the charges against Greenpeace activists who took part in a Bering Sea protest aboard the Arctic Sunrise. The charge is now one of "hooliganism" a Russian offense that is akin to vandalism. The same charge was used against "Pussy Riot", a feminist punk-rock group who performed a lewd political song without permission in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Moscow. Three of the group were sentenced to two years imprisonment after awaiting trial for about five months without bail. The Greenpeace activists still have not been granted bail after two months. Murmansk jail conditions are described in a letter to home as cold and basic; perhaps making a young British female activist feel she was born to loose.

Update: In an expected move, Russian law enforcement officials have charge 30 people with piracy, a serious felony, in response to a Greenpeace protest against drilling in the Arctic. The charged includes a British journalist and a Russian cameraman on board the Arctic Sunrise when it was assaulted by Russian spetznaz last month. Greepeace called the charges an "imaginary crime".  Dutch government said it would start arbitration proceedings to return the Dutch registered ship and its crew. Greenpeace is protesting the exploitation of oil deposits in the Arctic Sea, until recently relatively untouched by the international oil industry. The organization has consistently made the point that exploiting the Arctic's resources will exacerbate global warming. The most recent report by the International Panel on Climate Change says humanity can only emit around 800 gigatons of carbon and still limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celcius. As of 2011 humans have already released 530 gigatons. This means the world's remaining fossil fuel deposits will have to remain unburned, a highly unlikely scenario given the huge profits to be had by international oil corporations.

{25.09.13}Russian spetznaz borded the Greenpeace ship, Arctic Sunrise on the 19th, dropping down from a military helicopter on ropes to the deck of the ship in the Barents Sea . Greenpeace is protesting drilling in the Arctic by the Russian company Gazprom which it considers to be "one of the most reckless oil companies in the world today." The raiders held the bridge crew at gunpoint and took over the ice breaker bringing it into Kola Bay about six miles from Murmansk. No one was injured during the operation. On Tuesday the Russian government announced it would open a criminal case against Greenpeace activists for piracy. The charge carries a 15 year prison sentence No formal charges have yet been filed. An Russian investigator said the Greepeace icebreaker was crammed with electronic equipment of "unclear purpose", and that some activists attempted to board a drilling platform operated by a Gazprom subsidiary evoking "reasonable doubts about their intent". Greenpeace said its activists intended to raise a banner on the Prirazlomnaya drilling platform to protest Arctic pollution. Activists approached the giant platform in small boats launched from the Arctic Sunrise the day before the seizure. Two attempted to climb up the platform, but crew members cut their ropes causing them to fall back into the frigid water. A Russian Greenpeace representative disparaged the potential serious criminal charges labeling them "absurdist". She said the organization's ship was in international waters and the Russian government had no right to board a peaceful foreign ship. Russia'a Foreign Ministry reportedly summoned the Dutch ambassador asking him to ensure the Netherlands registered Arctic Sunrise would not engage in such activity again.