Greenpeace activists cannot leave Russia

Russia has informed Greenpeace activists that they cannot leave the country, reports North Devon Journal reports Friday. Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise / Flcikr In September, Russia arrested 30 activists who were protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic. A Greenpeace ship, the Arctic Sunrise, was boarded by the Russian coast guard because it entered Arctic waters. All activists have been granted bail by courts in St Petersburg but they cannot leave Russia. Greenpeace said today that the Russian decision is in defiance of a ruling of an international court. The organization wants all 28 activists should be allowed home for Christmas, the newspaper said. The organization said that Russia’s Investigative Committee has written to activist Anne Mie Jensen from Denmark that they are not free to leave the country. In November, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ordered Russia to allow the Arctic 30 to leave the country immediately and to release the Arctic Sunrise as soon as a bond of €3.6 million in the form of a bank guarantee was paid, the paper said.