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Arctic 30 moved to Saint Petersburg
Source: The Guardian
Arctic 30 moved to Saint Petersburg
Shaun Walker in Moscow and Sam Jones
The Guardian, Friday 1 November 2013 18.39 GMT
The environmental campaigners and journalists detained on board the Greenpeace ship the Arctic Sunrise in September, and since charged by Russian authorities with hooliganism, are being moved from the Arctic port of Murmansk to Saint Petersburg.
A lawyer for the so-called Arctic 30, Mikhail Kreindlin, confirmed on Friday evening that they had already left the pre-trial detention centre in Murmansk where they had been held since being taken off the Arctic Sunrise.
The 28 Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists were initially charged with piracy by Russian authorities, but this was later downgraded to "hooliganism as part of an organised group", a lesser charge which still carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail. Investigators have said they may bring further charges of endangering the lives of officials against individual activists, and Greenpeace said on Friday that the piracy charges have still not formally been lifted. All 30 have had bail applications rejected by courts in Murmansk.
A source in the Saint Petersburg prison service told Russian news agencies on Friday evening that the activists were not yet in the city. Kreindlin was uncertain exactly how the transfer was taking place, but said the most likely form of transport would be in a specially equipped prison service train carriage. The train journey from Murmansk to St Petersburg takes about 27 hours. It was not immediately clear why the activists were being moved.
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Shaun Walker in Moscow and Sam Jones
The Guardian, Friday 1 November 2013 18.39 GMT
The environmental campaigners and journalists detained on board the Greenpeace ship the Arctic Sunrise in September, and since charged by Russian authorities with hooliganism, are being moved from the Arctic port of Murmansk to Saint Petersburg.
A lawyer for the so-called Arctic 30, Mikhail Kreindlin, confirmed on Friday evening that they had already left the pre-trial detention centre in Murmansk where they had been held since being taken off the Arctic Sunrise.
The 28 Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists were initially charged with piracy by Russian authorities, but this was later downgraded to "hooliganism as part of an organised group", a lesser charge which still carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail. Investigators have said they may bring further charges of endangering the lives of officials against individual activists, and Greenpeace said on Friday that the piracy charges have still not formally been lifted. All 30 have had bail applications rejected by courts in Murmansk.
A source in the Saint Petersburg prison service told Russian news agencies on Friday evening that the activists were not yet in the city. Kreindlin was uncertain exactly how the transfer was taking place, but said the most likely form of transport would be in a specially equipped prison service train carriage. The train journey from Murmansk to St Petersburg takes about 27 hours. It was not immediately clear why the activists were being moved.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/01/arctic-30-moved-saint-petersburg
