Russian piracy charges against Arctic 30 activists 'not withdrawn', Greenpeace says
Source: ABC (Australia)
Russian piracy charges against Arctic 30 activists 'not withdrawn', Greenpeace says
By Lucy Shannon, staff and wires
Updated 3 hours 45 minutes ago
Piracy charges brought against 30 Greenpeace activists, including an Australian man, being detained in a Russian prison have not been dropped despite pledges to downgrade them to hooliganism, Greenpeace says.
The activists, which have been dubbed the Arctic 30, were arrested at gunpoint in September after two of them attempted to climb a Russian oil rig in protest against Arctic oil drilling.
[font size=1]
-snip-[/font]
Russia's Investigative Committee pledged to downgrade the charges to the lesser charge of hooliganism, cutting the maximum jail term from 15 years to seven, after Russian president Vladimir Putin said the group were not pirates.
But Greenpeace spokesman Reece Turner says the activists appeared before the committee this week and the piracy charges remain.
[font size=1]
-snip-[/font]
Read more:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-02/piracy-charges-against-greenpeace-activists-not-dropped/5065792