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| Russia drops first Greenpeace Arctic 30 cases | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Russian authorities have dropped criminal charges against the first of 30 people accused of taking part in a Greenpeace protest in the Arctic. | Russian authorities have dropped criminal charges against the first of 30 people accused of taking part in a Greenpeace protest in the Arctic. |
| The 28 activists and two freelance journalists were arrested in September as they staged a protest at a Russian offshore oil rig. | The 28 activists and two freelance journalists were arrested in September as they staged a protest at a Russian offshore oil rig. |
| They were all charged with hooliganism - but have all been freed on bail. | |
| They are being granted amnesty under a new Russian law which has seen several high profile releases in recent days. | They are being granted amnesty under a new Russian law which has seen several high profile releases in recent days. |
| On Monday Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, the two members of punk protest band Pussy Riot jailed for staging an anti-government protest in a Moscow cathedral, were freed. | |
| In an earlier move unrelated to the amnesty, former Russian tycoon and prominent Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky was pardoned and released after more than 10 years in prison for theft and tax evasion. | |
| 'Best Christmas present' | |
| Greenpeace said on Tuesday that three of the "Arctic 30" group had been told their cases were now closed and others were expected to receive notice soon, AFP news agency reports. | |
| Twenty-six of the group are foreigners, and the group said they would be free to leave Russia once they had visas. | |
| "We know that getting those stamps would be the best Christmas present for the Arctic 30 and we hope it can happen quickly, but until such time as they do, we still cannot say when they will leave," said spokeswoman Violetta Ryabko. | |
| The Greenpeace group, from 16 different countries, had sailed to an oil rig operated by Russia's state-run energy company Gazprom in September. | |
| They were intercepted by Russian coast guards, who fired warning shots, as some activists tried to climb on board the rig. | |
| Their ship, the Arctic Sunrise, was seized. | |
| The group were initially charged with piracy but the charges were later reduced to hooliganism. | |
| The Russian amnesty law was passed last week by the State Duma and could see the release of some 20,000 people. | |
| It was approved as part of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the adoption of Russian constitution. |