Posted on 09/26/2013 10:08:06 AM PDT by bkopto
A court in Murmansk, north-west Russia, was continuing to decide on Thursday the fate of the 30 Greenpeace activists arrested during an Arctic drilling protest.
Three of those arrested, including a freelance photographer and a Canadian national, have already been refused bail and remanded in custody.
Russian prosecutors have accused the activists of piracy as part of an organised group, an offence that carries a maximum 15-year jail term. The activists were on board Greenpeace's boat the Arctic Sunrise and were protesting against drilling at an oil rig off Russia's northern shores.
Greenpeace has dismissed the charges as absurd, saying it has a long history of nonviolent protest and it is clear that there was no intent of piracy or terrorism in the actions of its activists.
The court said Denis Sinyakov, a photographer who formerly worked for the Reuters news agency, was a flight risk as he had frequently travelled abroad. He was remanded in custody for two months, and led out of the courtroom wearing handcuffs. Roman Dolgov, a marine pollution expert from Greenpeace, was also denied bail, so was Canadian Paul Ruzycki.
Decisions in the cases of other foreign activists on board the ship, who come from 18 different countries, are expected during the course of Thursday afternoon. A British consular official is in Murmansk attempting to offer support to the six Britons among the arrested activists.
SNIP
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, weighed in to the debate on Wednesday. He said it was obvious that the activists were not pirates, "but formally they were trying to seize this platform. It is evident that those people violated international law."
Despite Putin's words, prosecutors have pressed ahead with the piracy charges.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
GOOD!
Let them rot in a Russian prison.
If the current administration more than ignored the cries for help from Benghazi, they certainly should not give any help to these destroyers!
May I suggest The Lubyanka?
“Like, dude, there's no WiFi in here!!!!”
*makes face like the kid in Home Alone*
I like Putin style to send environmentalists to the Gulag to cut trees down. I would even let them have a prayer service for each tree they murdered. It’s going to be a funny outcome if they do get sent to Siberia.
May I suggest The Lubyanka? *
Good idea!
Perhaps now that Russia and Turkey have improved, a Russian official might want to send them to a Turkish prison, should they complain about their accommodations.
Don’t send them to the mines, send them to cut trees. It is a more appropriate punishment and very traditional.
Looks like SOMEBODY knows how to deal with individuals who enter their country illegally...
(a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed -Oil platforms are "property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State". The Greenpeacers appear to have boarded the platform with the intent of interfering with the operation of the platform, in a way that would cause economic loss, which fits the definition of depredation as "damage or loss".(i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft;
(ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State;
Therefore, it appears that a case, under international law, can be made for them being engaged in piracy.
The Russians ,at least, have someone in charge who wants to preserve their heritage ,even going so far as to protect Christianity and prevent the spread of homosexual propaganda.
The Russian peoples have had the experience of 7 decades of socialism which caused more suffering than any Tsar would have conceived of in his most insane moments.The American people have experienced prosperity and freedom for decades only to embrace failed socialism.
Anyone have a recoding of “The World Turned Upside Down” ?
I love a story with a happy ending.
Russia, PLEASE confiscate the Greenpeace ship and all property of the “activists” and sentence them to “life at hard labor” cutting trees and doing other useful work in Siberia.
It is long past time someone taught these enviro-terrorists a harsh lesson. It just might deter others from trying the same idiotic and dangerous stunts. Greenpeace didn’t mess with France after having a boat sunk by French frogmen.
They may ultimately be released, but not until after a long stay in a Russian jail awaiting trial.
One more thing.Stupid,arrogant ,spoiled brats of the U.S. ,England, and other countries need reminding that not everyone will be as tolerant of their asinine antics as their own foolish countrymen have been.
I despise Greenpeace and the Sierra Club because they are going to cause my electric bill to double again with closing of the local coal-fired plants ;and that is in addition to the six-fold increase in costs from the EPA regulations and “normal” inflation since 1980.
Well,darn,I was wrong.Looks like under Russian law they can be sentenced to a maximum of ONLY 15 years.
“Long history of non-violent protest”? First of all, it’s a lie. Greenpiss is known for its brazen tactics that include ramming other vessels, tearing crane booms and other apparatus off their targets, and spraying them with toxic bilge or waste water. And the point is moot anyway, since the issue here is what they were doing on the Russian oil platform, not what they’ve historically done on their other raids.
U.S. could trade them Obama for Putin and include a future draft pick like Hillary to boot.
Maybe lock ‘em up with some folks suspected of butt piracy.
Natasha: "We have country club prisons, dahlink?"
Boris: "Da. Is prison in country where they beat you with clubs."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.