Protest or Piracy? Greenpeace Activists Remain Jailed in Russia

Protest or Piracy? Greenpeace Activists Remain Jailed in Russia After Boarding Arctic Oil Rig

(Greenpeace segment begins at 14:50 into the show.)

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Thirty activists with Greenpeace remain jailed in Russia and face possible piracy charges, one week after they were detained after a peaceful protest against Arctic oil drilling. Many of the Greenpeace activists are appearing in a Russian court today. A freelance photographer and a Greenpeace spokesperson, Roman Dolgov have just been ordered to be jailed for two months. On September 18, Greenpeace activists attempted to scale Russia’s first Arctic offshore oil platform. A nearby Russian Coast Guard ship with agents masked on board responded. The Russians proceeded to ram and slash the Greenpeace inflatable boats, sprayed the activists with water cannons and fired warning shots. They detain two Greenpeace activists who had managed to climb onto the oil platform.

AMY GOODMAN: A day later, armed Russian coast guards descended on the Greenpeace’s main ship, the Arctic Sunrise, using a helicopter and ropes. They reportedly lined up the majority of the 30 activists on board and held them at gunpoint on their knees on the ship’s deck. Officials then towed the boat and its occupants to the port Mermansk where the activists were held incommunicado and questioned by investigators. On Tuesday, Russia’s top investigative agency said it would prosecute the Greenpeace activists on piracy charges. If convicted, the activists could face up to 15 years in prison. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin defended the Russian Coast Guard’s decision to apprehend the Greenpeace activists. He spoke at an international conference on the Arctic.

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: It would be better if Greenpeace representatives sat with us together in this hall and told us what they think about the problems we are discussing. They could state their complaints, demands, and concerns. No one is trying to brush them aside. We gather for meetings like this specifically to discuss such problems. It is obvious they are not pirates, but they tried to storm the platform. Our security forces and border troops did not know exactly who exactly was trying to seize the platform under the Greenpeace guise. It is obvious these people violated international law by coming dangerously close to the platform.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Human rights groups have called on Russian authorities to drop the piracy charges. Amnesty International Russia Director Sergei Nikitin said the activists legitimately exercised their right to peaceful protest.