2 Canadian protestors on Greenpeace ship arrested by Russian Coast Guard

[Journeyman]

I'm guessing this is a publicity stunt dreamed up by some higher up using the folks on the ground as pawns.

I've crossed paths with quite a few 'social activists.'  The lower-level people can be even more retarded enthusiastic than those who have migrated upwards.  For the higher-ups, being the globe's social conscience has become their employment -- keeping that paycheque coming in tends to provide a slightly different timbre when singing kumbaya.

They are lucky no one got hurt.

...yet.

 

[The Bread Guy]

This seems like a really bad idea on Greenpeace's part; will try and find the article, but a few years ago the russian navy captured some pirates off Somalia, dragged their boat a few hundred meters away, then blew it up quoting some maritime treaty from the 1400s that was never repealed.

Here's some video, and here's a bit on Russia's "catch and release" approach  ;D

 

[The Bread Guy]

Latest from Russia:  they screwed up, but they're not pirates ....

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday Greenpeace activists arrested for staging a protest at Russia's first Arctic offshore oil platform had violated international law but signaled they should not face charges of piracy.

Russian authorities seized the activists' ship and towed it to shore after two tried to scale the rig to protest against Russian plans to drill for oil in the Arctic, which they say poses a threat to the fragile eco-system.

The 30 activists aboard the Arctic Sunrise were due to be questioned on Wednesday, Greenpeace said, a day after Russian investigators said they had opened a criminal case on suspicion of piracy, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

"It is absolutely evident that they are, of course, not pirates," said Putin, but said the activists had broken international law when they tried to climb the oil platform .....

 

[Robert0288]

Thought I should just leave this here

 

[GAP]

Poor puppies...... :


Greenpeace crew in 'shock' in Russian jails
Published October 01, 2013 AFP
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/01/greenpeace-crew-in-shock-in-russian-jails/?intcmp=obinsite



Moscow (AFP) –  Greenpeace crew members detained in Russian jails for two months over their open-sea protest against Arctic oil drilling are "close to shock" over their conditions, a rights activist said Tuesday.

The 30 detained are being held in pre-trial detention centres in the cities of Murmansk and Apatity, which are nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) north of Moscow and above the Arctic Circle.

All but four of the activists are non-Russians from countries including Britain, the United States, Finland and Argentina.

Russia has jailed the activists from Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise protest ship without charge pending an investigation into alleged piracy, after several scaled a state-owned oil rig on September 18.

The activists have complained of cold cells and a lack of suitable clothing and food, said Irina Paikacheva, the head of a state-connected regional prisoners' rights watchdog.

"Many of them are in a state close to shock," she told AFP after visiting the prisoners. "They had never expected that they would face such consequences for their peaceful protest in a democratic state."

The foreign detainees are struggling to make themselves understood since virtually none of the prison staff speaks English, she said. One of the activists has consulted a psychologist.

Several of the foreign nationals have been placed in cells with Russians even though this breaches Russian law, Paikacheva added.

A Polish activist is sharing a cell with four Russians, while one of the British activists has two Russian cellmates, both accused of robbery.

Several non-smoking activists also complain of being placed in cells with chain-smokers.

Greenpeace spokesman Aaron Gray-Block said in e-mailed comments that several of the detained activists "need prescription medication".

"A number of others are taking over the counter medications such as paracetamol for problems such as mild arthritis and back pain," he said.

A young Finnish female activist is a vegan and unable to eat prison food, Paikacheva said, adding that prison officials had denied her request for vitamins to be delivered to her.

Under Russian law, prisoners have to hand in their watches and wear shoes without laces. The Finnish activist lacks a thyroid gland and needs to take medicine regularly -- hard to do without a watch.
end

 

[Journeyman]

.....virtually none of the prison staff speaks English

.....non-smoking activists also complain of being placed in cells with chain-smokers.

.....is a vegan and unable to eat prison food

.....prison officials had denied her request for vitamins to be delivered

      :rofl:


"They had never expected that they would face such consequences" 
Yep; that whole 'responsibility for one's behaviour' thing sure sucks

 

[The Bread Guy]

.... "They had never expected that they would face such consequences for their peaceful protest in a democratic state." ....

And I guess if someone trespassed on THEIR property, they'd see it as "peaceful protest"?

I guess they never read the bits saying it may actutally be a bit better in Russian prisons these days than in the past.  Their mileage may vary, though  ;D

 

[Old Sweat]

Watch the organization use this as a major fund raiser; after all is said and done that is what Greenpeace has become. With that in mind, what was conceived as a more or less normal publicity stunt, can and probably will be turned into a financial bonanza!

I am not being sarcastic.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Watch the organization use this as a major fund raiser; after all is said and done that is what Greenpeace has become. With that in mind, what was conceived as a more or less normal publicity stunt, can and probably will be turned into a financial bonanza!

I am not being sarcastic.

You're bang on.  Just like terrorist attack videos, it's "propaganda of the deed".

 

[GAP]

Russia grants bail to 2 more in case against 30 arrested in Greenpeace Arctic drilling protest
Published November 20, 2013 Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11/20/russia-grants-bail-to-2-more-in-case-against-30-arrested-in-greenpeace-arctic/



MOSCOW –  A Russian court has granted bail to two more of the 30 people who were arrested following a Greenpeace protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.

Greenpeace said that St. Petersburg's Primorsky Court agreed Wednesday to release Faiza Oulahsen of the Netherlands and Alexandra Harris of Britain on bail of 2 million rubles ($61,500) each.

Courts had already agreed this week to free 12 people pending trial, but refused to release an Australian activist and ordered him held until February.

The 30 people aboard a Greenpeace ship were detained in September and have been in custody ever since. It is unclear whether the foreign activists would be allowed to leave the country.

They were initially charged with piracy, but investigators later said they would be tried on charges of hooliganism.
end