Greenpeace "Pirates" of the Arctic Sea. (Russia)

You may or may not have heard about the Arctic 30 (if you haven't by now then what are you seriously doing with your day?), a group of 28 Greenpeace activists and 2 Journalists being detained in Russian prison, facing charges of piracy.

The group were protesting peacefully aboard Greenpeace ship "Arctic Sunrise", attempting to bring further light to the increasing environmental risks of oil drilling in the Arctic Waters. Their two main motives for protest were, unsurprisingly, (a.) the fossil fuel industry's contribution to climate change and thus destruction of the Arctic ecosystem, as well as (b.) the more direct threat of oil spillage and damage to the biodiversity of the Arctic. On their website they state:

The fragile Arctic is under threat from both climate change and oil drilling. As climate change melts the Arctic ice, oil companies are moving in to extract more of the fossil fuels that caused the melt in the first place. But above the Arctic circle, freezing temperatures, a narrow drilling window and a remote location mean that an oil spill would be almost impossible to deal with. It's a catastrophe waiting to happen. Greenpeace is working to halt climate change and to stop this new oil rush at the top of the world.

 The group were seized at gunpoint aboard their ship last month and are now being detained by Russian Authorities who claim the arrest was "pure provocation". Since, and particularly yesterday (5th October), there have been worldwide protests outside Russian embassies, calling for the release of the Arctic 30 group which includes 6 Britons.

The Artic Sunrise.

The sentence for piracy in Russia is up to 15 years, and this is the reality the captives could potentially face if they are not freed. It seems an out-of-proportion reaction to dealing with peaceful protesters yet it purely demonstrates the inconvenient truth people are attempting to silence. This Russian state-controlled firm "Gazprom" regards these protesters as mere obstacles in their path to oil and, consequently, money and therefore scapegoat them, seeking any reason to eradicate them.

Vivienne Westwood at the 5th October Protest in London.

However, with protests for their freedom swiftly gaining momentum it seems the Russians will soon be unable to ignore such worldwide outrage and will, hopefully, free these innocent activists... Or could this potentially lead to something more ominous?

So far, 1052494 emails have been sent to Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko (Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom) and you can send one too via the Greenpeace website.
Follow @gp_Sunrise on Twitter to get regular updates on developments in the fight to free the Arctic 30 and further information on how you can get involved.