On 18 September 2013, Greenpeace activists attempted to scale the Prirazlomnaya drilling platform, as part of a protest against Arctic oil production.
The following day, on 19 September 2013, Russian authorities seized the Greenpeace ship the Arctic Sunrise in international waters in the Russian Exclusive Economic Zone, arresting the crew at gunpoint, towing the ship to Murmansk, and detaining the crew of 28 activists and two freelance journalists for three months.
The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal investigation, charging the activists initially with piracy and later with hooliganism.
Since the Arctic Sunrise had been flying the Dutch flag, the Netherlands filed a case at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS case 22) and obtained an order for the release of the crew and ship pending a final adjudication of the matter.
In December 2013, despite having had ignored the ITLOS ruling, Russia released the crew anyway as part of a general amnesty adopted by the State Duma, after three months of detention. The Arctic Sunrise itself was released another six months later, in June 2014.
Background On 11 August 2013, the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise left the Norwegian port of Kirkenes to begin a month-long expedition in the Arctic to protest against oil exploration in Arctic waters. The Arctic Sunrise sailed into the Barents Sea and was then refused permission three times by the Russian authorities to enter the Northern Sea Route although the refusal is in violation of international law including the right to freedom of navigation."Russia shuts Greenpeace out of Arctic Sea route, stifles criticism of oil industry" , Greenpeace, 21 August 2013.Rashini Suriyaarachchi "Defending the Arctic even as Russia threatens to use force" , Greenpeace, 26 August 2013. On 23 August, Greenpeace ignored Russia's ban to protest state oil company Rosneft's operations in the Arctic and entered the international waters of the Kara Sea."Greenpeace Ship Sails to Arctic Kara Sea Despite Ban" , RIA Novosti, 24 August 2013. On 26 August, the Arctic Sunrise left the Northern Sea Route, after the Russian coastguard boarded the boat and threatened to use force if they would not leave the international waters of the Kara sea."Russians Force Greenpeace Ship to Leave Kara Sea" , Environment News Service, 26 August 2013.
Prirazlomnaya protest, and seizure of the Arctic Sunrise and crew On 18 September 2013, four RHIB inflatables were launched from the Arctic Sunrise from its position in the Pechora Sea."Greenpeace Storms Prirazlomnaya Platform in Arctic" , The Moscow Times. The RHIBs carried Greenpeace activists and crew members towards Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya drilling platform. At the time of the action, the Arctic Sunrise tweeted "We're going to try and stop the drilling.",Arctic Sunrise Twitter feed , 18 September 2013 Twitter. although subsequently Greenpeace have stated that their aim was to hang banners on the oil rig to call for an end to Arctic drilling. Two activists managed to attach themselves to the platform and attempted to climb, despite being blasted with water, while another activist tried unsuccessfully to become attached to the platform. The Russian coastguard fired warning shots from AK-74 rifles and four warning shots from a cannon on board the Ladoga coastal patrol vessel. The two activists were removed from the platform and held on board the coastguard vessel, although it was unclear whether or not they had been placed under arrest."Greenpeace Activists Being Held Without Charge By Russia" Greenpeace assails oil rig in Russian Arctic , BBC News, 18 September 2013."Greenpeace Activists Being Held Without Charge By Russia" , Scoop Independent News, 20 September 2013."Answers to questions posed by the Tribunal" , 7 November 2013 International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
On 19 September 2013, the day after the Prirazlomnaya protest, the Russian authorities forcibly took control of the Arctic Sunrise, which was boarded from a helicopter by fifteen Federal Security Service officers in balaclavas, armed with guns and knives.Brown, Jonathan "Russia arrests 30 environmental activists during Arctic protest" , 20 September 2013 The Independent. At the time of the boarding, the Arctic Sunrise was in Russia's Exclusive Economic Zone but not within the safety zone around the oil rig, and permission was not sought to board it from the Arctic Sunrise'''s flag state, the Netherlands. The captain was separated from the crew while other crew members and activists were held in the mess room.Wilson, Steve "Russia seizes Greenpeace ship after Arctic rig protest" , 20 September 2013 The Daily Telegraph.
The Arctic Sunrise was towed to the port of Murmansk. All of the 30 people on board were taken to a detention facility where they were brutally beaten and interrogated. In early October, the Leninsky District Court in Murmansk issued a warrant to arrest all 30 people. 22 were put in custody for two months pending an investigation and the other eight were detained for three days pending a new hearing. They were under investigation for piracy, which in Russia carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years.Vasilyeva, Nataliya. Associated Press, "Greenpeace To Appeal Activists’ Jailing In Russia", ABC News, 27 September 2013."Greenpeace to appeal over activists held in Russia" , BBC News, 27 September 2013. On 23 October the charge of piracy was dropped and replaced by a charge for aggravated hooliganism with a maximum sentence of seven years. After they were transferred to Saint Petersburg on 12 November, the Kalininsky and Primorsky district courts released most of the people on bail, and the Murmansk Regional Court rejected an appeal against the arrests on 21 November.
According to Phil Radford, executive director of Greenpeace in the United States at the time, the reaction of the Russian coast guard and courts had been the "stiffest response that Greenpeace has encountered from a government since the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985."
Detainees The detainees were christened the "Arctic 30" by Greenpeace and the press. They included:
Crew by nationality US: Captain Peter Henry Willcox Argentina: Second mate Miguel Hernán Pérez Orsi Australia: Radio operator Colin Russell Brazil: Deckhand Ana Paula Alminhana Maciel Canada: Bosun Alexandre Paul, first mate Paul D Ruzycki Denmark: Third mate Anne Mie Roer Jensen France: Deckhand Francesco Pisanu Italy: Deckhand Cristian D'Alessandro Netherlands: Chief engineer Mannes Ubels New Zealand: Boat mechanic Jonathan Beauchamp, electrician David John Haussmann Turkey: Volunteer assistant cook Gizem Akhan UK: Communications officer Alexandra Hazel Harris, 2nd engineer Iain Rogers Ukraine: Cook Ruslan Yakushev
Activists by nationality Argentina: Activist Camila Speziale Finland: Activist Sini Saarela Netherlands: Campaigner Faiza Oulahsen Poland: Activist Tomasz Dziemianczuk Russia: Spokesman Roman Dolgov, Dr Yekaterina Zaspa, press officer Andrei Allahverdov Sweden: Campaigner Dima Litvinov Switzerland: Activist Marco Weber UK: logistics co-ordinator Frank Hewetson, activist Anthony Perrett, activist Philip Ball
Non-activists and journalists by nationality UK: Videographer and journalist Kieron Bryan Russia: Photographer Denis Sinyakov
Responses
One of the jailed people was the award-winning Russian photographer Denis Sinyakov, whose jailing led to protests by the Russian Union of Journalists and the international group Reporters Without Borders. According to Alexei Simonov, head of Glasnost Defense Foundation, a Moscow-based rights group, Sinyakov had only been covering the actions of Greenpeace activists in the Barents Sea and had nothing to do with the group's agenda: "The authorities violated all norms and laws by keeping Sinyakov in prison ... I must say it again and again that Russian justice system is designed by the Kremlin not to look for real culprits to be punished but to punish and scare those who don't suit the authorities."Loiko, Sergei L. "Greenpeace activists, Moscow photographer placed under arrest" , Los Angeles Times, 26 September 2013.
Sinyakov posted on his Facebook account an image of a hooded Russian coast guardsman pointing a handgun at the boat. When the first two activists were detained, Sinyakov wrote: "I call upon you to join the struggle for freeing these activists, who sincerely see Arctic exploration as malignant."
Sinyakov was subsequently detained. The top trans-Atlantic security and rights group, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, also demanded Sinyakov's immediate release. Several Russian media outlets, including the lenta.ru site and a private but Kremlin-friendly national TV station, NTV, took all pictures off their web sites in a show of solidarity with the jailed photographer. In Paris, a few dozen Greenpeace activists protested in front of the Russian Embassy on 27 September 2013, waving banners with images of the incarcerated activists and the word "FREE" written over them. Prior to 22 November 2013, the Russian court had released all but one of the Greenpeace campaigners against bail (paid by Greenpeace) with the condition the campaigners could not leave Russia.
As flag state for the Arctic Sunrise, the Netherlands asked for immediate release of the ship and shipmates to Dutch authorities. The Dutch government argued that since the ship was outside Russian territorial waters and outside the safety zone around the oil rig, it was in open sea, and hence outside Russian sovereign rights and jurisdiction. According to nautical law, any actions against a ship in open sea can only be conducted after agreement with the flag state. Hence, the Dutch took the position that the capture of the Arctic Sunrise by Russia had not been legal. After Russia did not release the ship, the Netherlands filed a formal case with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on 21 October 2013 to order Russia to release the Greenpeace ship and the activists who had been on board.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but said the Russian judicial process would need to run its course.Key raises Greenpeace NZers with Putin . 3 News NZ. 9 October 2013.
Eleven Nobel prize-winners wrote to Vladimir Putin asking the Russian president to drop charges against the Greenpeace activists and journalists.BBC: Nobel laureates urge Putin to free Greenpeace activists , 17 October 2013
Six men broke into the Greenpeace office in Murmansk and stole materials.Greenpeace: Murmanskin toimistoon murtauduttu yle 18 October 2013
Legal cases against Russia On 22 November 2013, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled that the campaigners and the ship should be immediately released, and should be allowed to leave the country, against a bail of 3.5 Million Euro.
On 14 August 2015, the international Permanent Court of Arbitration unanimously ruled that Russia had acted in breach of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and had to compensate the Dutch government (flag state of the ship) for damages to the ship. The tribunal ruled that the actions of Greenpeace could not be labelled as piracy or hooliganism; reasons Russia had given for capturing the ship. Russia, a partner of the permanent court of arbitration, responded by stating it does not recognize the authority of the court in this case.
Greenpeace announcements
According to Greenpeace, charges of piracy against peaceful activists have no merit in international law. Greenpeace rejected the suggestion of illegal drugs on the Arctic Sunrise''. Certain pharmaceutical drugs are kept in a safe. The Russian authorities broke the safe after they took the vessel.