Three Russians granted bail, while Australian has custody extended in Greenpeace case
- 11 years ago
Three of the Greenpeace ‘Arctic 30’ detainees have been granted bail in a case that has drawn Western criticism of Russia’s rights record.
Bail was granted to the three Russians – a medic, a photographer and a Greenpeace spokesperson – at separate pre-trial hearings on the same day an Australian radio operator from the group was denied bail.
The court ruled that medic Yekaterina Zaspa was not among those who tried to climb the rig, and there were no grounds to extend her arrest for three months.
The photographer, Denis Sinyakov, and spokesperson, Andrei Allakherdov, have been deemed unlikely to flee Russia due to being Russian citizens, and being married with children.
It is unclear why Australian Colin Russell’s custody was extended, as he too had not tried to scale the rig.
Greenpeace lawyer, Sergei Golubok spoke out against the inconsistent treatment of the detainees:
“The charges are the same against everybody. That means they should release everybody immediately,” said Golubok. “It is the defence’s strong belief that they should have done it long ago, and not today after people have spent two months behind bars for nothing.”
British freelance journalist Kieron Bryan also appeared in court on Monday, but asked for his case to be adjourned until Wednesday, as he believes only half of his statement as are being translated into Russian for the judge.
The Greenpeace activists are being held following an attempt to scale a Russian, state-owned, offshore oil rig in the Arctic on September 18.
If convicted of hooliganism, the ‘Arctic 30’ could face up to seven years in jail. Further rulings are expected from Tuesday onwards.
Bail was granted to the three Russians – a medic, a photographer and a Greenpeace spokesperson – at separate pre-trial hearings on the same day an Australian radio operator from the group was denied bail.
The court ruled that medic Yekaterina Zaspa was not among those who tried to climb the rig, and there were no grounds to extend her arrest for three months.
The photographer, Denis Sinyakov, and spokesperson, Andrei Allakherdov, have been deemed unlikely to flee Russia due to being Russian citizens, and being married with children.
It is unclear why Australian Colin Russell’s custody was extended, as he too had not tried to scale the rig.
Greenpeace lawyer, Sergei Golubok spoke out against the inconsistent treatment of the detainees:
“The charges are the same against everybody. That means they should release everybody immediately,” said Golubok. “It is the defence’s strong belief that they should have done it long ago, and not today after people have spent two months behind bars for nothing.”
British freelance journalist Kieron Bryan also appeared in court on Monday, but asked for his case to be adjourned until Wednesday, as he believes only half of his statement as are being translated into Russian for the judge.
The Greenpeace activists are being held following an attempt to scale a Russian, state-owned, offshore oil rig in the Arctic on September 18.
If convicted of hooliganism, the ‘Arctic 30’ could face up to seven years in jail. Further rulings are expected from Tuesday onwards.