Outrageous: Greenpeace activists denied bail by Russian court considering piracy charge
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.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/26/greenpeace-activists-denied-bail-russia-court-piracy