Six foreigners given bail in Greenpeace case

Six jailed foreign Greenpeace activists have been granted bail by Russian courts.

Lawyers said the rulings will allow them to return to their homes pending trial for a protest against Arctic offshore oil drilling.

The activists from New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Italy and Poland were ordered released in hearings to determine whether 30 people arrested in a protest at a drilling rig in September should remain in custody past 24 November.

One activist has been ordered held further and all face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

But the rulings signalled a shift in Russia's handling of the case, which has added to Western criticism during President Vladimir Putin's third term.

Courts had repeatedly refused to free them on bail in previous hearings since their arrest.

They are charged with hooliganism over the protest, in which some tried to scale an oil platform in the Pechora Sea.

The offshore rig is Russia's first in the Arctic and is crucial to its drive to tap the region's energy resources.

Courts in St Petersburg ordered three Russians released yesterday on 2 million roubles ($45,354) bail.

However, it ruled that Colin Russell, an Australian, can be held until 24 February.

It was not immediately clear why the court extended the term of custody for Mr Russell, who had not tried to scale the rig.

"I'm here to defend my innocence. I have not committed a crime," Mr Russell said, who was led into court in handcuffs and confined to a defendant's cage.

"I have not lifted a hand in an angry manner ever in my life. I have never been violent."

nvestigators have sought three-month extensions of detention for the activists, who come from 18 countries, but the Kremlin may believe releasing some on bail could ease criticism of Russia, which will be in the spotlight when it hosts the Winter Olympics in February.

Western leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have expressed concern to Mr Putin over the case and celebrities have voiced support for the Greenpeace campaigners.

Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney has asked Mr Putin to help secure their release.

The activists granted bail today - David Haussmann of New Zealand, Ana Paula Maciel of Brazil, Camila Speziale of Argentina, Tomasz Dziemianczuk of Poland, Paul Ruzycki of Canada and Cristian D'Alessandro of Italy - are to be released when bail has been paid.

Ms Maciel, 31, who held up a hand-written sign during thehearing that read, "Illegal Prison, Shame on Russia", broke into tears of joy as the judge read the ruling.

Mr Haussmann, 49, an electric engineer on the Arctic Sunrise, the Greenpeace icebreaker that was used in the protest at the Prirazlomnaya oil platform, described the decision as the victory of "common sense".

Speaking from the defendant's cage in court, he told reporters he would fly home to New Zealand to be with his three-year-old son and his pregnant partner.

"I will hug my partner Sara and my boy Theo," he said, smiling. "I'll be much happier when I'm home."

The activists granted bail will be freed once the money comes through, which is likely this week.

The foreigners can leave Russia but are obliged by law to return if summoned by investigators, said Alexander Mukhortov, a lawyer representing Haussmann and other activists.

The investigation is continuing and no trial date has been set.

Greenpeace called the case against the so-called Arctic 30 "a high farce," and said the protest over the platform operated by state-controlled Russian energy giant Gazprom was peaceful and the charges are unfounded.

The environmental group said drilling for oil in the Arctic threatens region's pristine and unique environment.

The court ruled yesterday that Yekaterina Zaspa, a Russian medic on the Arctic Sunrise who was not among those who tried to climb the rig, could be released on bail.

The judge also granted bail to Greenpeace activist Andrei Allakhverdov, 50, and Denis Sinyakov, a 36-year-old photographer who was documenting the protest and was on the Arctic Sunrise when Russian coastguards forced their way aboard a day later.

Greenpeace hopes the release of the 30 campaigners, who are from 18 nations, can be secured on Friday when the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is expected to rule in a case the Netherlands lodged against Russia.

But Russia is boycotting the case, which means it is unlikely to adhere to the court's ruling.

The 30 activists had initially been charged with piracy, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Mr Putin has said they were clearly not pirates but that they violated the law.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Six foreigners given bail in Greenpeace case

Dengan url

http://newsdeadlineup.blogspot.com/2013/11/six-foreigners-given-bail-in-greenpeace.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Six foreigners given bail in Greenpeace case

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Six foreigners given bail in Greenpeace case

sebagai sumbernya