Russia will pay USD 3 million to Greenpeace in compensation for the illegal arrest or detention of the Arctic Sunrise ship and 30 crew members in 2013. This is the result of an agreement reached between Russia and the Netherlands.
The agreement comes after a long legal process dating back to the embarkation, seizure and detention of the Dutch-flagged vessel in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation.
“We congratulate the Dutch government for taking a strong stance in favor of freedom of expression and peaceful activism,” said Daniel Simons, Senior Legal Counsel at Greenpeace International.
“Although Greenpeace International was not a party to this agreement, we are pleased to see the agreement of the Russian government with a statement confirming the substance of the international court’s ruling,” Simons added.
In September 2013, Greenpeace took measures to organize a protest on the Gazprom oil platform in the Pechora region. As a result, the Russian authorities detained the boat and the activists in the Barents Sea and took them to Murmansk.
The crew members and two journalists, known as Arctic 30, were detained in the country for two months. The ship was released after eight months.
In July 2017, an international court ordered Russia to pay EUR 5.4 million (approximately USD 6 million) for damages to the Netherlands related to the dispute. However, Russia did not initially recognize the court’s decision.
Simons explained that after Arctic 30 receives the compensation, all the remaining money will go to campaign against an oil industry.
