Greenpeace Actiovists Moved to St Petersburg Jail

**Panda** Sat 2 Nov - 2:18

Greenpeace Activists Moved To St Petersburg Jail

The 'Arctic 30', as the group are known, were being held in a detention centre in Murmansk on charges of piracy.

9:03pm UK, Friday 01 November 2013

Armed Russian coastguard arrest two Greenpeace activists

Video: Arctic 30 Activists Moved In Russia

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Greenpeace says 30 men and women arrested after protesting against Russian oil drilling in the Arctic have been moved from a Murmansk detention centre to St Petersburg jail.

The reason behind the move is not yet clear, according to Greenpeace lawyers.

"The detainees shouldn't be in jail at all," says Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo.

The 'Arctic 30', as the group are known, were being held in a detention centre in Murmansk.

Mr Naidoo has expressed fears conditions could be worse at the St Petersburg jail.

"There is no guarantee that conditions inside the new detention centre will be any better than in Murmansk. In fact, they could be worse," he said.

The 30 activists - six of them British - were arrested in September as their ship circled near the Prazlomnaya oil platform in the Pechora Sea.

Armed officers stormed the Greenpeace vessel after some activists attempted to board the platform.

The platform, owned by Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom, is the first offshore oil rig in the Arctic.

Prosecuting authorities in Russia came under fire on Friday after failing to lift piracy charges against the group, as promised.

Russia's powerful Investigative Committee announced last week that the piracy charges - which carry a 15-year jail sentence - would be replaced with charges of hooliganism.

But when the 30 detainees appeared before the Committee this week, the piracy allegations were not withdrawn.

Instead each of the activists faced an additional charge of hooliganism, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.

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With all the news going on this case seems to have been overlooked. A recent Report said the activists have been deliberately isolated so that they cannot even have converse with each other and it is looking very serious . The Greenpeace Lawyers do not appear to be getting anywhere and I think Cameron must have had a word with Putin , to no avail.