Russia Charges Greenpeace Activists with Piracy

Russia has charged five Greenpeace activists with piracy, the environmental campaign group says.

Activists from Brazil, Britain, Finland and Sweden, and a British videographer were charged, the group says.

The acrivists were detained aboard a Greenpeace icebreaker during a protest at an offshore oil rig in the Arctic last month.

Most of the 30 people from 18 countries detained from the Arctic Sunrise ship were remanded for two months last week after investigators opened a criminal case on piracy charges related to the incident, in which some of the activists tried to scale the oil rig in international waters in the Pechora Sea on September 18.

A British freelance videographer and a Brazilian activist were among the five charged with piracy, Greenpeace said in a statement Wednesday. The group's lawyers said they are planning to appeal.

The piracy charges citied in the original case carry a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison, RIA Novosti informs.

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