Court Watch Tracking Current Developments in International Law
Russia Grants Amnesty to Greenpeace Arctic 30 Activists
The recent passage of a Russian amnesty law has allowed members of a group of activists known as the Arctic 30 to finally depart from Russia. The Arc- tic 30, consisting primarily of Greenpeace mem- bers, were passengers aboard the Arctic Sunrise, a Greenpeace vessel flying Dutch flags. Russian authorities detained the activists after the group attempted to board a Russian oil rig in order to stage an anti-drilling protest. The activists were charged with criminal hooliganism and spent two months in a Russian prison before being released on bond. Upon the passage of the amnesty law the activists were cleared of the criminal charges and allowed to leave Russia.
On September 19, 2013, Greenpeace activists sailed the vessel the Arctic Sunrise into the Rus- sian Federation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), where the activists unsuccessfully attempted to board a Russian-run oil rig. The Arctic Sunrise was then boarded by Russian authorities, which arrest- ed the activists and seized the ship.
The activists originally faced criminal piracy charg- es, although the charges were later reduced to hooliganism. The Arctic 30 were later released from prison after the Russian parliament passed an amnesty law granting their release. Greenpeace reported that the Russian government has begun notifying the activists that their cases have been closed. The activists have declared their complete innocence in the matter; activist Alexandra Harris even went so far as to describe the ordeal as “ob- scene” and “a complete over-reaction on the part of [the Russian Federation].”
In October 2013 the Netherlands requested that the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
(ITLOS) issue provisional measures with regard to the Arctic Sunrise and the activists. Although the Russian Federation refused to take part in the pro- ceedings, citing lack of jurisdiction, ITLOS agreed to hear the Arctic Sunrise case (Kingdom of the Netherlands v. Russian Federation).
On November 22, 2013, ITLOS held that Russia’s actions were internationally wrongful and handed down a decision mandating that Russia release the vessel and the activists, and allow them to leave Russian territory. Despite these provisional mea- sures handed down by ITLOS Russian authorities continued to hold the activists without bail. The Russian Federation claimed that it had made an earlier reservation to the United Nations Conven- tion on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which ex- empted them from ITLOS jurisdiction in the pres- ent case. Although Russia had initially declared its intentions to not comply with the order the activ- ists were released from jail after two months of detention and, as of late December 2013, have all left Russian territory.
Human rights issues in the Russian Federation have recently been the focus of international scru- tiny. Although Russia’s amnesty laws retroactively granted the activists immunity from prosecution for acts of hooliganism, many remain skeptical of Russia’s motives. Some skeptics, including mem- bers of the Arctic 30, base their criticism on the view that the amnesty laws are a thin veil sugar- coating Russia’s human rights issues.
The passage of the amnesty laws coincides with Russia’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, and has led to the release of several other high-profile arrestees, including members of the band Pussy Riot. The band mem- bers were convicted of hooliganism after being arrested for staging an anti-government protest
ILSA Quarterly » volume 22 » issue 3 » February 2014
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