A UN maritime tribunal has ordered Russia to free a
Greenpeace vessel and 30 people detained after an oil drilling protest in the
Arctic.
The court in the German city of Hamburg said a bond
of 3.6 million euros ($5m) should be posted.
A Russian statement issued after the ruling said the
Hamburg tribunal had no jurisdiction in the case.
The Arctic Sunrise and its crew were detained two
months ago. All but one of those held have now been granted bail.
An Australian activist, radio operator Colin
Russell, remains in custody in St Petersburg; Greenpeace is to appeal against
his detention next week.
The ship's captain, veteran American activist Peter
Willcox, was among those freed on Friday. Eleven others were released earlier
in the week.
Greenpeace said all those released had been moved to
an undisclosed location in St Petersburg.
They were originally held in a jail in Murmansk
where some activists had complained of being cold and of poor conditions.
It is still unclear whether they will now be allowed
to leave Russia.
The Arctic Sunrise was sailing under a Dutch flag
when it was stopped and searched on 18 September.
Thirty people - 28 activists and two journalists -
were detained.
The Dutch authorities, who brought the case, argued
that Russia had violated international law by failing to respect the freedom of
navigation.
The Greenpeace activists were staging a protest
against Arctic oil drilling at a Russian fixed gas platform.
Initially they were charged with piracy, but the
charges were later reduced to hooliganism.
Russia argues it was entitled to make the arrests
because it claims the activists were breaking Russian laws.
The Hamburg tribunal is an independent,
international judicial body which adjudicates in disputes over the
interpretation and application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it would study the
tribunal's ruling.
WOW… did Russia just “flip off” the tribunal?
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