British Arctic 30 activists granted bail in Russia‏

Three of the so called Arctic 30 activists who were charged with hooliganism have today been freed on bail by a St Petersburg court.

Anthony Perret, Kieron Bryan and Alexandra Harris were granted bail, with another three Britons still to appear before the court later this week.

Many of the others involved in the peaceful protest, which was aiming to  “call attention to the threat of oil drilling and climate change”, had already been granted bail earlier this week, though none of them have yet been released pending the payment of bail surety equal to £38,000 per arrestee.

In September, the activists, aboard the Arctic Sunrise, attempted to board an oil-rig run by oil giant Gazprom. Their vessel was boarded by armed security officials who arrested the crew, despite the fact it was not in Russian territorial waters, making it an illegal boarding by Russian authorities.

Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said: “Peaceful activism is crucial when governments around the world have failed to respond to dire scientific warnings about the consequences of climate change in the Arctic and elsewhere…. We will not be intimidated or silenced by these absurd accusations and demand the immediate release of our activists.”

John Sauven, a representative of Greenpeace UK, described today’s decision as a “huge relief”, but added: “The Arctic 30 still face absurd charges for peacefully protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic”.

Joe Turnbull