Arctic 30 : What happened?

After many months of appealing to the Russian government and the countless number of people rallying together in support of the release of the Arctic 30, the Russian government finally let the A.30 go. According to Green Peace,
"The final chapter in the legal ordeal of the Arctic 30 began as the group was asked to attend a meeting at Russia's Investigative Committee, where the criminal case against them is being dropped en masse".

On the 26th of December 2013 the final foreign captives were returned home.

Below is the video of gratitude to all of us who stood, prayed and supported them through those few months of hell.

Supporting a cause: Save the Arctic and Free the Arctic 30

On September 18, 28 activists and two freelance journalists have been arrested following a peaceful protest against oil drilling. Being brave, they took a stand and two of them climbed an Arctic oilrig to hang a banner, to bear witness to the injustice and draw global attention to the issue. 

According to Camila, a 21 year-old activist from Argentina, describes the action in a blog post.  
Four inflatables leave the Arctic Sunrise heading towards Gazprom's oil platform, the Prirazlomnaya. Activists attempt to climb and establish themselves on the outside structure of the platform to protest against imminent drilling.
They are here to peacefully protest against the Arctic oil rush, which threatens grave harm to the Arctic environment, as well as extracting more oil that humanity cannot afford to burn. The Prirazlomnaya is the first oil rig to start oil production in the ice-filled waters of the Arctic. Safety culture on the rig is a joke.
The nearby Russian Coast Guard ship quickly responds by launching inflatables manned with agents masked in balaclavas. They proceed to ram and slash the Greenpeace inflatables, threaten activists at gun and knife point and fire warning shots from automatic weapons. Further, the remaining crew onboard the Arctic Sunrise count 11 shots fired across the bow from the Coast Guard vessel's artillery cannon.
 

They were arrested. The Greenpeace ship was seized. All 28 activists and two freelance journalists have been charged with piracy. They are facing 15 years in jail if the charges stick.

Want to help? 

Take a stand for peaceful protest. Send a letter to the Russian Embassy to free the Arctic 30

Currently they are still detained with no sign of release. Russia's Investigative Committee announced that it will apply for a three-month extension to the detention of the Arctic 30. 

 

SAVE THE ARCTIC 

 

The Arctic is majestic, extreme, and extremely fragile. Companies like Gazprom and Shell want to drill for oil, putting the entire planet at risk. Now 30 men and women are imprisoned in Russia for trying to stop this destruction and protect the region. ACT NOW to Save the Arctic and Free the Arctic 30: Greenpeace.org_Arctic 30

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