Russia Drops Piracy Claims Vs Greenpeace Activists

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's main investigative agency says it has dropped piracy charges against jailed Greenpeace activists and charged them with hooliganism instead.

The Investigative Committee's statement Wednesday appears to herald a quick release of the activists, who were arrested last month for a protest at Russian oil rig in the Arctic. The piracy charges carry a 15-year prison term, while hooliganism is usually punished by 15 days in jail or a fine.

The move follows a comment by President Vladimir Putin, who said last month that he doesn't think the Greenpeace activists are pirates.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/russia-drops-piracy-claims-vs-greenpeace-activists

[morningfog]

1. Greenpeace always wins in the end.

[Turborama]

2. Unless something is lost in translation, I can't see a "hooliganism" charge holding, either

Definition of HOOLIGANISM

rowdy, violent, or destructive behavior

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hooliganism

If they have the right to charge them of anything and still feel the need to, they should just drop the piracy thing and charge anyone who got onto the rig with trespass.

[bananas]

3. Russian court imprisons Pussy Riot band members on hooliganism charges

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/17/world/europe/russia-pussy-riot-trial/index.html

Russian court imprisons Pussy Riot band members on hooliganism charges

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN
updated 11:24 AM EDT, Sat August 18, 2012

Moscow (CNN) -- Three members of Russian female punk rock band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison Friday after they were found guilty of hooliganism for performing a song critical of President Vladimir Putin in a church.

The five months they have spent in detention since their arrests in March count toward the sentence, Judge Marina Sirovaya said.

The judge said the charges against the three young women -- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich -- had been proved by witnesses and the facts.

The Pussy Riot members were charged after screaming, "Mother Mary, please drive Putin away," in a protest act in February inside Christ Savior Cathedral, one of Moscow's grandest houses of worship.

<snip>

[MattSh]

4. Types of hooliganism under Russian Law.

There are two types of hooliganism.

Peter B. Maggs, law professor and Russian law expert, tells BuzzFeed Shift that the Russian legal code identifies two types of hooliganism: petty and criminal. Petty hooliganism is more or less like disorderly conduct — Maggs says 90% of those convicted for this offense are “obnoxious drunks.” The punishment is usually a fine or brief imprisonment.

Criminal hooliganism is more serious. It has to be “a gross violation of public order, showing a disrespect for society.” It must involve weapons or objects used as weapons, or be done for motives of political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred, or hatred toward a social group. It can carry a sentence of up to 5 years if committed by an individual, or 7 years if committed by an organized group.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/annanorth/what-does-it-mean-to-be-charged-with-hooliganism