Thirty Greenpeace activists have been detained by Russian coastguards in the port of Murmansk.
Greenpeace says so far five of them have been questioned.
The activists, who were protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic, were towed for four days in their ship, the Arctic Sunrise.
Russia prosecutors have accused them of piracy after two activists climbed onto the side of an offshore oil platform.
The charge of piracy carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years in Russia, depending on the gravity of the offence, and a fine of up to 500,000 roubles ($15,000).
The activists were initially taken to the Murmansk headquarters of Russia’s Investigative Committee, modeled on the FBI.
On Wednesday morning, Greenpeace Russia tweeted that the activists were being detained for 48 hours and had been transferred to “different prisons in Murmansk and around”.
Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said on Tuesday that “all those who assaulted the platform, regardless of nationality, will be prosecuted”.
Thirty Greenpeace activists have been detained by Russian coastguards in the port of Murmansk.
The campaigners were seized on September 19 along with their ship after two Greenpeace activists tried to climb onto a Gazprom offshore platform.
The ship was raided by armed Russian men in balaclavas who abseiled down from helicopters. The ship was seized in the Pechora Sea, near the rig.
Greenpeace said in a statement on Tuesday that its protest against “dangerous Arctic oil drilling” was peaceful and in line with its “strong principles”.
“Our activists did nothing to warrant the reaction we’ve seen from the Russian authorities,” it said.
The campaigners on the ship are from 18 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Russia, the UK and the US, Greenpeace said.
Vladimir Markin described the protest as “an attempt to seize a drilling platform by storm” and said it raised “legitimate doubts about their intentions”. The ship “was loaded with electronics whose purpose was not clear”, he said.
“It’s hard to believe that the so-called activists did not know that the platform is an installation with a high hazard level, and any unauthorized actions on it can lead to an accident, which would not only endanger the people aboard it but also the ecology, which is being protected zealously,” he said.
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Around 30 Greenpeace activists have been accused by Russian prosecutors of piracy and will be prosecuted for trying to board an Arctic oil platform.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, modeled on the FBI, will question the activists.
The Greenpeace ship, Arctic Sunrise, is being towed to the port of Murmansk.
Around 30 Greenpeace activists have been accused by Russian prosecutors of piracy and will be prosecuted for trying to board an Arctic oil platform
Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said “all those who assaulted the platform, regardless of nationality, will be prosecuted”.
The campaigners were detained on Thursday along with their ship after two Greenpeace activists tried to climb onto a Gazprom offshore platform, in a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.
Arctic Sunrise was raided by armed Russian men in balaclavas who abseiled down from helicopters. The ship was seized in the Pechora Sea, near the rig.
Greenpeace said the Russian authorities “are holding 30 of our activists”, though that figure was not confirmed by Russian officials.
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At least 30 Greenpeace activists are being held at gunpoint by Russian security officers who stormed the group’s ship in the Arctic.
About 15 men in balaclavas seized the Arctic Sunrise ship in the Barents Sea, an activist said.
This comes a day after four Greenpeace members tried to board a Russian oil platform to prevent it from drilling.
The group says this threatens a unique and fragile environment – a claim denied by Moscow.
One activist on the ship said Greenpeace members were being held in the galley of the Arctic Sunrise, while the captain was being detained on the bridge.
The activist said he believed the armed men were members of Russia’s internal security service, the FSB.
About 15 men in balaclavas seized the Arctic Sunrise ship in the Barents Sea
Greenpeace also said its vessel was boarded in international waters and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release the crew immediately.
The ship is now expected to be taken to the Russian port of Murmansk.
The Russian foreign ministry earlier accused the group of “aggressive and provocative” behavior.
It said the actions of the activists who had tried to board Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya drilling rig on Wednesday “threatened people’s lives and could lead to environmental catastrophe in the Arctic with unpredictable consequences”.
Moscow also said that its coastguard vessel had to fire warning shots across the Dutch-flagged Arctic Sunrise.
The Dutch ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the foreign ministry over Greenpeace’s action.
A foreign ministry spokesman in The Hague later told Dutch media the issue had “our full attention” and that contacts with the Russian authorities would be pursued over what had happened.
The Gazprom project is Russia’s first effort to extract oil from the Barents Sea.
Prirazlomnaya is scheduled to begin production by the end of the year. Russia’s economy and its recent growth depend to a large extent on income from its huge oil and gas deposits.
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