MOSCOW, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Greenpeace said it would appeal a ruling filed in a Russian court that put nearly two dozen of its arctic oil protesters behind bars.
Prosecutors pressed ahead Thursday with piracy charges despite statements from Russian President Vladimir Putin questioning the filing of charges on those grounds.
The New York Times reported Thursday an American ship captain and a photojournalist were among the 22 activists charged by Russian authorities for acts of piracy. There were 30 activists questioned by a Russian court, the newspaper said.
Greenpeace acknowledged Wednesday two of its activists were arrested and taken into Russian Coast Guard custody after scaling a drilling platform in the Russian arctic.
The activists were part of a group using the ship Arctic Sunrise to campaign against Gazprom's operations in the northern Pechora Sea.
Putin, while questioning piracy, said their actions were a violation of international law.
Reporters without Borders and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe filed separate complaints against the arrest of photojournalist Denis Sinyakov for filming Greenpeace.
"It is worrisome that Sinyakov was arrested while performing his professional duties as a photojournalist," OSCE representative Dunja Mijatovic said in a statement Thursday.
