Posted on 09/25/2013 6:13:07 AM PDT by hedgetrimmer
SALEKHARD, Russia, Sept 25 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday Greenpeace activists arrested for staging a protest at Russia’s first offshore oil platform had violated international law but signalled they should not face charges of piracy.
The activists’ ship was seized and towed to shore on Tuesday after two tried to scale the platform to protest against Russian plans to drill for oil in the Arctic which they say pose a threat to the fragile eco-system.
The 30 activists, who were onboard the ship, were due to be questioned on Wednesday, Greenpeace said, a day after Russian investigators said they had opened a criminal case on suspicion of piracy, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in jail.
“It is absolutely evident that they are, of course, not pirates, but formally they were trying to seize this platform … It is evident that those people violated international law,” Putin said at an Arctic forum.
(Excerpt) Read more at gcaptain.com ...
In Russian waters and around Russian assets at least.
Sell the ship and give the proceeds to the oil rig workers..................
Greenpeace activists like this belong in jail. Heard Siberia is nice this time of year.
Ok, not pirates. Terrorists. Shoot them. Either scuttle the boat or use it for something valuable. Send a clear message. Otherwise you risk being considered pussies. Or worse yet, obamas.
I think Putin is wrong.
Pirate is another word for Privateers.
Greenpeace is a private organization, not a government agency.
They have no standing to contest the ownership of property, nor to attempt to confiscate it. Doing so makes them PIRATES.
“It is absolutely evident that they are, of course, not pirates, but formally they were trying to seize this platform...”
I wonder what followed the 3 dots at the end of the above quote. Even if they are not considered pirates they were at least tresspassing, attempting to imprison the workers, and likely sabotage/vandalize the rig. That ought to be worth a few years in prison at least.
Not pirates. Anarchists who think the law does not apply to them.
This makes Putin appear more diplomatic.
Putin may want to pursue terrorism charges. Funding pirates is not illegal, however their ports are subject to sanction. Under current terrorism laws, funding terrorists is a crime.
A rig full of bored Russian roughnecks would have had a field day with them...
Gulag’em.
Novaya Zemla would be interesting.
Forfeiture laws are wrong — but in this case.....
Privateers are private entities that work under the auspices of, with explict authorization from, an established government.
Big difference from a pirate, who is purely indeplendent and operates on his own authority.
I agree, the ecofreaks aren’t pirates because they weren’t taking possession of the rig for personal profit or gain. They were taking it to shut it down.
“Terrorist” works just fine, IMHO.
Ah, the old bad cop/good cop routine.
I would be surprised, though, if Putin had any legal say in the matter (independent judiciary and all that, LOL). Of course, he’s free to voice his personal opinion...
Putin is missing an opportunity, to “punish without punishment”. That is, to take this collection of Greenpeacers, and hand them over to a Russian tourism agency, supervised by the FSB (KGB), to give them a slow, methodical “eco-tour” of rural Russia. For 2-3 years.
And Russia is a very, very big country. 6.6 million square miles. They should be encouraged to take tens of thousands of digital pictures, stay in the nicest accommodations available, including Russian army field conditions with tents, since much of rural Russia doesn’t have accommodations.
After 2-3 years of “punishment by geography”, they should be flown home. It would be highly unlikely that Greenpeace would ever, ever, again bother Russia.
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