ARCTIC 30 Home - Dec. 27, 2013 - see articles below . . . . Ed.
= = = = = =
***NOTE: Posted with Permission from CELA. Ed.****
- - - - - -
The Arctic 30 needs your support!
[ http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=061 ... 95debd5655 ]
The team here at CELA is circulating the following message on behalf of Greenpeace.
As you may know, 28 Greenpeace activists and one freelance photographer and one freelance videographer are being held in Russia, after being illegally detained in international waters while on board our ship the Arctic Sunrise. The illegal boarding of the ship came a day after Greenpeace held a peaceful protest on a Gazprom oil platform on September 18th. Those in custody include two Canadian crew members, Paul Ruzycki and Alexandre Paul.
The "Arctic 30" have now been formally charged with piracy, which carries a maximum 15-year jail sentence and some have also been charged with hooliganism, which has a 7-year maximum sentence. Both charges are outrageous and disproportionate for peaceful protest.
We need to create a huge global outcry to get them freed as soon as possible. We are confident that any charge of piracy and hooliganism against peaceful activists has no merit in international law. We would love to ask for your help in calling for the activists’ immediate release.
Here’s how you can help:
• Send a letter to the Russian Consulate in Ottawa and demand the Russian authorities release our activists and abandon absurd charges and investigations into piracy:
Georgiy Mamedov
Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Canada
Embassy of the Federation of Russia
285 Charlotte Street, Ottawa, ON, K1N 8L5
Fax: 613-236-6342
• Sign and share this petition on social media or email this link to your friends:
[ http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/cam ... activists/ ]
• Sign and circulate this petition to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird:
[ http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/cam ... Arctic-30/ ].
There is a full timeline
[ http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... -timeline/ ] and a Q&A, as well as live updates on twitter (#FreeTheArctic30) if you'd like more information.
Thank you for your support.
Copyright © *2013* *Canadian Environmental Law Assocaiton*, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
*301-130 Spadina Avenue
Toronto ON M5V 2L4, Canada*
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Greenpeace International responds to allegations from Russian authorities
[ http://www.greenpeace.org/international/arctic-q-and-a/ ]
Feature story - October 28, 2013
On September 18th, the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise was involved in a peaceful protest at Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform, which is expected to become the first to produce oil from ice filled Arctic seas.
Over a day later, the Russian Coast Guard boarded the ship and seized the crew at gunpoint. The ship was then towed to the port of Murmansk. The crew of the Arctic Sunrise were held without charge during this time.
28 Greenpeace International activists, as well as a freelance videographer and a freelance photographer, have now been charged with piracy and face up to 15 years in prison.
There is a full timeline here:
[ http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... -timeline/ ]
- - - -
On this page
(ALL TITLES BELOW ARE LINKED at:
[ http://www.greenpeace.org/international/arctic-q-and-a/ ) ]
Hooliganism
Piracy
Activists 'posed a threat' to oil platform and surrounding environment
Greenpeace inflatables ‘rammed’ Russian coast guard
'Narcotics'
'Divers in the water'
The Arctic Sunrise was ‘not in international waters’
Greenpeace 'safety pod'
Illegal scientific research activities
Activists are 'guests', not arrested
- - - -
MORE:
[ http://www.greenpeace.org/international/arctic-q-and-a/ ]
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INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE LAW OF THE SEA
[ http://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/do ... _202_E.pdf ]
TRIBUNAL INTERNATIONAL DU DROIT DE LA MER
Press Release ITLOS/Press 202 25 October 2013
THE “ARCTIC SUNRISE” CASE
(KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS v. RUSSIAN FEDERATION)
PUBLIC HEARING ON 6 NOVEMBER 2013
By Order dated 25 October 2013, the President of the Tribunal fixed the date for the opening of the public hearing in the “Arctic Sunrise” Case on 6 November 2013 at 10 a.m. A copy of the Order of the President is available on the website of the Tribunal.
Judge Shunji Yanai, President of the Tribunal, will preside over the hearing. The hearing is expected to be held on one day. A schedule will be announced on the website of the Tribunal at www.itlos.org.
Background of the case
A request for the prescription of provisional measures pending the constitution of an arbitral tribunal was submitted to the Tribunal on 21 October 2013 (see ITLOS/Press 201) by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a dispute with the Russian Federation concerning the arrest and detention of the vessel Arctic Sunrise and its crew by authorities of the Russian Federation. The Arctic Sunrise, which flies the flag of the Netherlands, is an icebreaker operated by Greenpeace International. In the Request, “the Kingdom of the Netherlands requests that the Tribunal prescribe as provisional measures that the Russian Federation:
(i) Immediately enable the ‘Arctic Sunrise’ to be resupplied, to leave its place of detention and the maritime areas under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and to exercise the freedom of navigation;
(ii) Immediately release the crew members of the ‘Arctic Sunrise’, and allow them to leave the territory and maritime areas under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation;
(iii) Suspend all judicial and administrative proceedings, and refrain from initiating any further proceedings, in connection with the incidents leading to the boarding and detention of the ‘Arctic Sunrise’, and refrain from taking or enforcing any judicial or administrative measures against the ‘Arctic Sunrise’, its crew members, its owners and its operators; and
(iv) Ensure that no other action is taken which might aggravate or extend the dispute.”
In a note verbale dated 22 October 2013, received by the Registry of the Tribunal on 23 October 2013, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Berlin informed the Tribunal that “[u]pon ratification of the Convention on the 26th February 1997 the Russian Federation made a statement, according to which, inter alia, it does not accept procedures provided for in Section 2 of Part XV of the Convention, entailing binding decisions with respect to disputes ... concerning law-enforcement activities in regard to the exercise of sovereign rights or jurisdiction.” By the same note, the Tribunal was informed that the Russian Federation had notified the Kingdom of the Netherlands “that it does not accept the arbitration procedure under Annex VII to the Convention initiated by the Netherlands in regard to the case concerning the vessel “Arctic Sunrise” and that it does not intend to participate in the proceedings of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in respect of the request of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the prescription of provisional measures under Article 290, Paragraph 5, of the Convention.”
On 24 October 2013, the Registry of the Tribunal received a communication from the Kingdom of the Netherlands requesting “the Tribunal to continue the proceedings and make its decision on the Request for Provisional Measures”, in accordance with article 28 of the Statute of the Tribunal. Article 28 reads as follows:
When one of the parties does not appear before the Tribunal or fails to defend its case, the other party may request the Tribunal to continue the proceedings and make its decision. Absence of a party or failure of a party to defend its case shall not constitute a bar to the proceedings. Before making its decision, the Tribunal must satisfy itself not only that it has jurisdiction over the dispute, but also that the claim is well founded in fact and law.
Attending the hearing
The hearing will be held in the main courtroom of the Tribunal and is open to the public. Members of the diplomatic and consular corps wishing to attend the hearing are requested to contact the Tribunal’s Protocol Office. Members of the press are requested to register in advance with the Press Office by Monday, 4 November 2013 using the accreditation form. Owing to the limited number of seats available in the courtroom, members of the general public are requested to register with the Press Office by email by Monday, 4 November 2013.
Unobtrusive audio and video recording of the public sitting is permitted. Filming is subject to special authorization from the Press Office. Facilities are available for radio crews to connect recording equipment directly to the Tribunal’s audio system. Photographs (without flash) may be taken for a few minutes at the opening and at the end of the hearings.
Webcast
The hearing will be broadcast live on the website. A recorded webcast of the hearing will be made available under Webcast Archives after the close of each sitting. The verbatim records of the hearing will be published shortly thereafter on the website of the Tribunal.
Note: The press releases of the Tribunal do not constitute official documents and are issued for information purposes only.
The press releases of the Tribunal, documents and other information are available on the Tribunal’s websites (http://www.itlos.org and http://www.tidm.org ) and from the Registry of the Tribunal. Please contact Ms Julia Ritter at: Am Internationalen Seegerichtshof 1, 22609 Hamburg, Germany,
Tel.: +49 (40) 35607-227; Fax: +49 (40) 35607-245; E-mail: press@itlos.org
The Arctic 30 Home! Dec. 27, 2013
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
The Arctic 30 Home! Dec. 27, 2013
by Oscar » Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:15 am
Last edited by Oscar on Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Oscar
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Arctic 30 Members Welcome Russian Amnesty, But Refuse to Ap
by Oscar » Sat Dec 21, 2013 5:33 pm
WATCH: Arctic 30 Members Welcome Russian Amnesty, But Refuse to Apologize for Trying to Stop Oil Drilling
[ http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/20/ ... an_amnesty ]
Friday, December 20, 2013
Amidst international criticism of Russia’s human rights crackdown ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, the country’s parliament has approved a mass amnesty for as many as 22,000 prisoners. The move is officially meant to mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of Russia’s post-Soviet constitution.
Among the tens of thousands set to be released are the Arctic 30, members of Greenpeace who were arrested in September after trying to stop Russian oil drilling in the Arctic.
"We’re glad it happened, but we’re still wondering why we need to be amnestied for something we didn’t do," says Peter Willcox, who was the captain of the Arctic Sunrise and has worked with Greenpeace for decades.
"According to the World Court, we were arrested illegally on the high seas, illegally brought into Russia, and illegally detained."
Willcox joins us from St. Petersburg, Russia, along with Dimitri Litvinov, a Russian-born U.S. and Swedish citizen who has worked with Greenpeace since 1989.
Transcript
[ http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/20/ ... an_amnesty ]
[ http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/20/ ... an_amnesty ]
Friday, December 20, 2013
Amidst international criticism of Russia’s human rights crackdown ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, the country’s parliament has approved a mass amnesty for as many as 22,000 prisoners. The move is officially meant to mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of Russia’s post-Soviet constitution.
Among the tens of thousands set to be released are the Arctic 30, members of Greenpeace who were arrested in September after trying to stop Russian oil drilling in the Arctic.
"We’re glad it happened, but we’re still wondering why we need to be amnestied for something we didn’t do," says Peter Willcox, who was the captain of the Arctic Sunrise and has worked with Greenpeace for decades.
"According to the World Court, we were arrested illegally on the high seas, illegally brought into Russia, and illegally detained."
Willcox joins us from St. Petersburg, Russia, along with Dimitri Litvinov, a Russian-born U.S. and Swedish citizen who has worked with Greenpeace since 1989.
Transcript
[ http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/20/ ... an_amnesty ]
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9965
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
ARCTIC 30 Home
by Oscar » Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:50 pm
ARCTIC 30 Home
Freed Canadian Greenpeace activist says Arctic drilling protest was worth two months in Russian jail
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/28 ... sian-jail/ ]
Benjamin Shingler, Canadian Press | December 28, 2013 | Last Updated: Dec 28 11:50 AM ET
MONTREAL — Even after getting arrested at gunpoint, spending two months in a Russian jail, and a third in limbo while awaiting his exit visa, Greenpeace activist Alexandre Paul says the protest was worth it.
In fact, the 35-year-old Montrealer doesn’t hesitate when asked whether he would do it again.
“Give me two weeks vacation and I’d go back out there,” Paul said in an interview Friday at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, shortly after arriving home.
Paul said the whole ordeal helped raise awareness about climate change and the effects of Arctic drilling.
MORE:
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/28 ... sian-jail/ ]
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No regrets say Greenpeace Arctic activists after UK return
[ http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_re ... n_999.html ]
by Staff Writers London (AFP) Dec 27, 2013
Five British Greenpeace activists arrived home in defiant mood on Friday after Russia granted them an amnesty to halt their prosecution for protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic.
Precisely 100 days after they were arrested on a Greenpeace ship, they flew from Saint Petersburg to Paris and then took a Eurostar train to London.
Anthony Perrett, Phil Ball, Iain Rogers, Alex Harris and filmmaker Kieron Bryan smiled as they posed for a scrum of photographers before emotional family reunions in the arrivals hall of St Pancras station.
Perrett said it was "good to be back" and he was "looking forward to spending some time in the woods" in his native Wales.
He said conditions in the prison in the Arctic Circle city of Murmansk, where the group of 30 activists were first held, were "a real challenge" and admitted he had experienced "quite a few dark moments".
Perrett said there had been deep snow and they were held in their cells for 23 hours a day, sharing a toilet between three people.
They were later moved to a more comfortable prison in Saint Petersburg before being released from custody after two months. They were allowed to leave Russia after the Kremlin-backed amnesty was issued.
Asked if the protest had achieved Greenpeace's aims, Perret said: "Of course it has been worth it. Our mission is to save the Arctic and stop oil exploration and we've never enjoyed quite so much media."
He said it was "completely preposterous" that the group had initially been charged with piracy, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years under Russian law.
The Greenpeace activists had been on board the Dutch-flagged ship Arctic Sunrise, targeting an offshore oil rig owned by the Russian energy giant Gazprom when they were seized in September by Russian security forces who winched down from a helicopter.
Seven of the so-called Arctic 30 charged in the probe have now left Russia after Dmitri Litvinov, a Swedish-American, left Saint Petersburg for Helsinki on Thursday.
Alexandre Paul of Canada flew out of Russia on Friday with the five Britons.
'I won't stop Arctic protests now'
Alex Harris, the Greenpeace communications officer on the ship, said she thought the Russian government had granted the amnesty to avoid global criticism with just weeks to go until the start of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
"I think it was the easy way out for Russia, to get rid of us before the Olympics began and before there's a big PR pressure from Greenpeace and the rest of the world," she told journalists.
The activist said she too had experienced appalling conditions in the Murmansk prison.
"The conditions are really bad, it's cold, the food is unedible -- it's not good," she said. "I had a leach on my toothbrush at one point.
"There was no physical violence towards me but it was torture -- we spent two months in a Russian jail cell and 100 days detained for a crime we didn't commit.
But she insisted she would carry on "peaceful campaigning" against Arctic oil exploration.
"I have gone through a lot for this campaign and I am not going to stop now."
The arrest of the Arctic 30 -- who hail from 18 different countries -- risked becoming another bone of contention in increasingly tense relations between Russia and the West.
MORE:
[ http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_re ... n_999.html ]
= = = =
Greenpeace activist 'even more dedicated' after Russia ordeal
[ http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_re ... n_999.html ]
Moscow (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 -
A Greenpeace activist who spent more than two months in prison in Russia over a protest against oil drilling said on Friday the ordeal had made her "even more dedicated" to saving the Arctic environment.
Dutch activist Faiza Oulahsen told AFP she had "no regrets" over the protest against a Gazprom rig in the Barents Sea, in an interview just before leaving Russia after benefitting from a Kremlin-backed amnesty.
Oulahsen and 29 other crew members of the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship were detained in September at sea and then held in prisons in Murmansk and then Saint Petersburg before being released on bail.
All 26 foreign activists in the so-called Arctic 30 are now in the process of leaving Russia, after the Kremlin amnesty prompted the criminal cases against them on hooliganism charges to be halted.
"I have no regrets, I did not have regrets when the ship was boarded or during the two months detention," Oulahsen, 26, told AFP by telephone as she prepared to leave Saint Peterburg.
Their initial arrest came when the Dutch-flagged Arctic Sunrise was seized by the Russian security forces who winched down from a helicopter in a commando-style operation.
"We did nothing wrong and I am still very dedicated to saving the Arctic and stopping Arctic oil drilling," she added.
"You can say I have become even more dedicated while in prison."
"They put us away for two months on absurd charges. I kept saying (while in prison) I am going to continue working as a campaigner, no matter what they do."
'Do I need to be sorry? No.'
MORE:
[ http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_re ... n_999.html ]
= = = = =
Russia drops charges against all but one of 30 Greenpeace activists involved in Arctic protest
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/25 ... c-protest/ ]
Irina Titova, Associated Press | December 25, 2013 4:30 PM ET
Greenpeace says Russian investigators have dropped charges against all but one of the 30 activists who were detained following a protest outside an oil rig in the Arctic
Two Canadians are believed to be among those who’ve had their criminal cases closed under an amnesty that was passed by Russian parliament earlier this month.
The move has been seen by many as an attempt by the Kremlin to dampen criticism of Russia’s human rights record before the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February.
Alexandre Paul of Montreal and Paul Ruzycki of Port Colborne, Ont., were held in custody for two months along with their fellow activists before they were released in November pending trial.
They were originally charged with piracy, but that was then downgraded to hooliganism.
Greenpeace says the foreigners among those who’ve had their cases closed have already applied to the Russian authorities for exit visas to leave the country and expect to get them in the next few days.
MORE:
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/25 ... c-protest/ ]
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Why even a show of clemency toward an adversary is a demonstration of power for Vladimir Putin
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/20 ... mir-putin/ ]
Henry Meyer, Ilya Arkhipov, Bloomberg News | December 20, 2013 2:51 PM ET
For Vladimir Putin, even a show of clemency toward an adversary locked away in a remote prison is a demonstration of power.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky was released from prison Friday and left Russia for Germany after Mr. Putin signed a decree pardoning the former oil billionaire for humanitarian reasons. The Russian leader unexpectedly announced he was pardoning his country’s most prominent prisoner Thursday in a comment lobbed at a throng of reporters as he left his annual news conference.
The move changed the conversation two days after a US$15-billion bailout to Ukraine. That deal had set off alarms around the globe about Soviet-style expansionism, adding to a crescendo of criticism over gay rights abuses.
Ending more than a decade of imprisonment for the former owner of Yukos Oil Co. shocked everyone, including Khodorkovsky’s mother and lawyers, and underscored the Russian leader’s aura of power. While the move helps shore up Mr. Putin’s image as he prepares to host the world at the Winter Olympics in February, it’s also a reminder of his dominance, says Masha Lipman, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center.
“With negative publicity pouring all over him, Putin dramatically changed the news cycle,” she said Friday.
“It only reinforces the way that Russia is managed as a political monopoly of one man. The most important decisions are only his to take, and he takes them in secrecy and keeps everyone in the dark.”
Mr. Putin is working through some of the biggest human-rights complaints about his regime as the country prepares to stage the Winter Olympics in Sochi Feb. 7-23.
MORE:
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/20 ... mir-putin/ ]
Freed Canadian Greenpeace activist says Arctic drilling protest was worth two months in Russian jail
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/28 ... sian-jail/ ]
Benjamin Shingler, Canadian Press | December 28, 2013 | Last Updated: Dec 28 11:50 AM ET
MONTREAL — Even after getting arrested at gunpoint, spending two months in a Russian jail, and a third in limbo while awaiting his exit visa, Greenpeace activist Alexandre Paul says the protest was worth it.
In fact, the 35-year-old Montrealer doesn’t hesitate when asked whether he would do it again.
“Give me two weeks vacation and I’d go back out there,” Paul said in an interview Friday at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, shortly after arriving home.
Paul said the whole ordeal helped raise awareness about climate change and the effects of Arctic drilling.
MORE:
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/28 ... sian-jail/ ]
- - - - - -
No regrets say Greenpeace Arctic activists after UK return
[ http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_re ... n_999.html ]
by Staff Writers London (AFP) Dec 27, 2013
Five British Greenpeace activists arrived home in defiant mood on Friday after Russia granted them an amnesty to halt their prosecution for protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic.
Precisely 100 days after they were arrested on a Greenpeace ship, they flew from Saint Petersburg to Paris and then took a Eurostar train to London.
Anthony Perrett, Phil Ball, Iain Rogers, Alex Harris and filmmaker Kieron Bryan smiled as they posed for a scrum of photographers before emotional family reunions in the arrivals hall of St Pancras station.
Perrett said it was "good to be back" and he was "looking forward to spending some time in the woods" in his native Wales.
He said conditions in the prison in the Arctic Circle city of Murmansk, where the group of 30 activists were first held, were "a real challenge" and admitted he had experienced "quite a few dark moments".
Perrett said there had been deep snow and they were held in their cells for 23 hours a day, sharing a toilet between three people.
They were later moved to a more comfortable prison in Saint Petersburg before being released from custody after two months. They were allowed to leave Russia after the Kremlin-backed amnesty was issued.
Asked if the protest had achieved Greenpeace's aims, Perret said: "Of course it has been worth it. Our mission is to save the Arctic and stop oil exploration and we've never enjoyed quite so much media."
He said it was "completely preposterous" that the group had initially been charged with piracy, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years under Russian law.
The Greenpeace activists had been on board the Dutch-flagged ship Arctic Sunrise, targeting an offshore oil rig owned by the Russian energy giant Gazprom when they were seized in September by Russian security forces who winched down from a helicopter.
Seven of the so-called Arctic 30 charged in the probe have now left Russia after Dmitri Litvinov, a Swedish-American, left Saint Petersburg for Helsinki on Thursday.
Alexandre Paul of Canada flew out of Russia on Friday with the five Britons.
'I won't stop Arctic protests now'
Alex Harris, the Greenpeace communications officer on the ship, said she thought the Russian government had granted the amnesty to avoid global criticism with just weeks to go until the start of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
"I think it was the easy way out for Russia, to get rid of us before the Olympics began and before there's a big PR pressure from Greenpeace and the rest of the world," she told journalists.
The activist said she too had experienced appalling conditions in the Murmansk prison.
"The conditions are really bad, it's cold, the food is unedible -- it's not good," she said. "I had a leach on my toothbrush at one point.
"There was no physical violence towards me but it was torture -- we spent two months in a Russian jail cell and 100 days detained for a crime we didn't commit.
But she insisted she would carry on "peaceful campaigning" against Arctic oil exploration.
"I have gone through a lot for this campaign and I am not going to stop now."
The arrest of the Arctic 30 -- who hail from 18 different countries -- risked becoming another bone of contention in increasingly tense relations between Russia and the West.
MORE:
[ http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_re ... n_999.html ]
= = = =
Greenpeace activist 'even more dedicated' after Russia ordeal
[ http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_re ... n_999.html ]
Moscow (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 -
A Greenpeace activist who spent more than two months in prison in Russia over a protest against oil drilling said on Friday the ordeal had made her "even more dedicated" to saving the Arctic environment.
Dutch activist Faiza Oulahsen told AFP she had "no regrets" over the protest against a Gazprom rig in the Barents Sea, in an interview just before leaving Russia after benefitting from a Kremlin-backed amnesty.
Oulahsen and 29 other crew members of the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship were detained in September at sea and then held in prisons in Murmansk and then Saint Petersburg before being released on bail.
All 26 foreign activists in the so-called Arctic 30 are now in the process of leaving Russia, after the Kremlin amnesty prompted the criminal cases against them on hooliganism charges to be halted.
"I have no regrets, I did not have regrets when the ship was boarded or during the two months detention," Oulahsen, 26, told AFP by telephone as she prepared to leave Saint Peterburg.
Their initial arrest came when the Dutch-flagged Arctic Sunrise was seized by the Russian security forces who winched down from a helicopter in a commando-style operation.
"We did nothing wrong and I am still very dedicated to saving the Arctic and stopping Arctic oil drilling," she added.
"You can say I have become even more dedicated while in prison."
"They put us away for two months on absurd charges. I kept saying (while in prison) I am going to continue working as a campaigner, no matter what they do."
'Do I need to be sorry? No.'
MORE:
[ http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_re ... n_999.html ]
= = = = =
Russia drops charges against all but one of 30 Greenpeace activists involved in Arctic protest
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/25 ... c-protest/ ]
Irina Titova, Associated Press | December 25, 2013 4:30 PM ET
Greenpeace says Russian investigators have dropped charges against all but one of the 30 activists who were detained following a protest outside an oil rig in the Arctic
Two Canadians are believed to be among those who’ve had their criminal cases closed under an amnesty that was passed by Russian parliament earlier this month.
The move has been seen by many as an attempt by the Kremlin to dampen criticism of Russia’s human rights record before the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February.
Alexandre Paul of Montreal and Paul Ruzycki of Port Colborne, Ont., were held in custody for two months along with their fellow activists before they were released in November pending trial.
They were originally charged with piracy, but that was then downgraded to hooliganism.
Greenpeace says the foreigners among those who’ve had their cases closed have already applied to the Russian authorities for exit visas to leave the country and expect to get them in the next few days.
MORE:
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/25 ... c-protest/ ]
= = = = = =
Why even a show of clemency toward an adversary is a demonstration of power for Vladimir Putin
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/20 ... mir-putin/ ]
Henry Meyer, Ilya Arkhipov, Bloomberg News | December 20, 2013 2:51 PM ET
For Vladimir Putin, even a show of clemency toward an adversary locked away in a remote prison is a demonstration of power.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky was released from prison Friday and left Russia for Germany after Mr. Putin signed a decree pardoning the former oil billionaire for humanitarian reasons. The Russian leader unexpectedly announced he was pardoning his country’s most prominent prisoner Thursday in a comment lobbed at a throng of reporters as he left his annual news conference.
The move changed the conversation two days after a US$15-billion bailout to Ukraine. That deal had set off alarms around the globe about Soviet-style expansionism, adding to a crescendo of criticism over gay rights abuses.
Ending more than a decade of imprisonment for the former owner of Yukos Oil Co. shocked everyone, including Khodorkovsky’s mother and lawyers, and underscored the Russian leader’s aura of power. While the move helps shore up Mr. Putin’s image as he prepares to host the world at the Winter Olympics in February, it’s also a reminder of his dominance, says Masha Lipman, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center.
“With negative publicity pouring all over him, Putin dramatically changed the news cycle,” she said Friday.
“It only reinforces the way that Russia is managed as a political monopoly of one man. The most important decisions are only his to take, and he takes them in secrecy and keeps everyone in the dark.”
Mr. Putin is working through some of the biggest human-rights complaints about his regime as the country prepares to stage the Winter Olympics in Sochi Feb. 7-23.
MORE:
[ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/20 ... mir-putin/ ]
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9965
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
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