Original story in Sydney Morning Herald
Yesterday in Hamburg there was a hearing at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), where the Netherlands brought a case seeking the release of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise and its crew.
Attending the hearing, Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said:
"As things stand the Russian authorities propose to jail 30 men and women for two decades because a couple of peaceful protesters tried to hang a small yellow banner from the side of a five hundred thousand tonne oil platform. In our view, there's every prospect the tribunal will order the release of the Arctic 30, pending the arbitration case that the Netherlands has filed against Russia."
Letter text
21 October 2013
To James Lorenz
Greenpeace Australia Pacific
“Time is irrelevant when you are first imprisoned, years go by without your wristwatch advancing more than a few seconds and the distance between two meals is a march across the entire desert of your life. In one night you sleep with every woman you’ve known, and when you wake it’s still night and you’re still shivering alone”
Our Game, le Carré, 1995
I think le Carré sums up prison life perfectly. I’m losing track of time, the days are blending into one. I think this is my 25th day. The 25th day is just as tortuous as the first, the only difference is me. I’m stronger and try to find humour amongst the long days. When I’m feeling low I dance. I also tap on the wall of my cell, Camila [Speziale, 21 years old, Argentinean] taps back and I’m reminded I am not alone. Everything is OK again.
I went to court for my appeal on Friday. I knew it was going to be rejected like the others, but when the judge said those words I couldn’t help getting upset. It was a reminder of the injustice the 30 of us have faced. I keep going over the events leading up to our imprisonment in my head. I can’t fathom how this has happened. We peacefully protested against an oil platform which has a notorious safety record, like its owner, Gazprom, that’s set to produce the world’s first Arctic oil. Producing such oil has been described by Russian scientist as harder than going to outer space. On the day of the action our activists were threatened with gun shots and knives. We were illegally boarded by the FSB in international waters.
Honestly it was so dramatic a movie could have been made of it. Officers wearing balaclavas and holding guns abseiled down ropes from a helicopter onto the Arctic Sunrise. Our personal electronics were taken away from us and haven’t been seen since. We were brought to Russia by force. Accused of piracy, thrown into prison now facing 15 years imprisonment.
It’s so absurd that it would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. However hard it is for me to accept, I have to stop worrying about what may happen and trust justice will be served.
It snows every day in Murmansk now. The snow tangled in the barbed wire on the roofs makes the place look strangely romantic. When I go outside my toes go numb and the falling snow flakes on my face awaken me from my prison coma.
I dream of the outside world a lot. When I wake I’m sleeping with steel bars digging into my back, facing the same four green walls I’ve faced for 25 days. That’s the hardest time of the day.
Despite everything that has happened I don’t hate Russia, I just want to go home.
Alex
xx
Background
Alex Harris, originally from Devon, is a digital communications officer who has worked at Greenpeace in Sydney for over two years, responsible for the Arctic campaign in Australia. She lives in Manly and is an enthusiastic scuba diver who volunteers for local environmental projects including beach litter cleanup days in Sydney. She has previously volunteered in an orphanage in Vietnam. The Arctic campaign is her first at Greenpeace.
Alex volunteered, along with 27 other Greenpeace campaigners from 18 countries including 58 year old Tasmanian radio operator Colin Russell to visit the Arctic on the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise. The aim was a peaceful protest against Russian oil giant Gazprom which is working to drill for oil in the Arctic.
On September 18, the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise took peaceful action at Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform. The Russian Coast Guard reacted strongly: after firing warning shots and detaining two activists under armed guard, they then seized the ship and towed it to the port of Murmansk.
28 Greenpeace activists, and a freelance photographer and a videographer, were first charged with piracy by the Russian authorities. This has since been changed to ‘hooliganism’ which carries a maximum 7 year jail term. The Murmansk Lenin District Court ordered that the Arctic 30 could be detained up until at least November 24 while allegations against them are investigated by the country’s authorities. Lawyers acting to defend the thirty have appealed against their detention.
For more information and comment contact: Alison Orme Media and Communications Greenpeace Sydney 0432 332 104