The public are being urged to help.
Greenpeace campaigners were out in the streets encouraging passers-by to sign up and support their new Free Our Activists campaign in Wimbledon yesterday.
The public were urged to email Russia’s UK ambassador, Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko, and demand the immediate release of 30 Greenpeace activists charged with piracy. So far there have been over 1.25m emails sent.
Six Britons are among 30 peaceful protesters being charged with piracy in Russia, known as the Arctic 30, including two journalists.
Greenpeace campaigner Jarvis Murphy, 25, braved the cold for eight hours encouraging the public to get involved and support Greenpeace.
“The world manufactures consent. If you don’t do anything, your silence says ‘yes’. So stand up and say ‘no’,” he said.
“We need to unite as a global force and show them that we will not bow down.”
Mr Murphy said he didn’t find talking to strangers difficult and that he enjoyed connecting with the human race that’s actually ‘awake’.
Greenpeace say their activists were involved in a peaceful protest, boarding a rig about to drill for oil in the Arctic, which belongs to Russian energy giant Gazprom.
A Greenpeace spokesman said: “This is ridiculous and has no merit in Russian or International law.”
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin seemed to agree with this when he weighed in on the issue at an international conference on the Arctic two weeks ago.
“I don’t know the details of what happened there,” he said.
“But obviously they are not pirates. However, formally, they tried to seize our platform.”
Earlier this week the UK government raised the case of the six Britons with the relevant Russian authorities, but have not gone as far as The Netherlands, who have launched legal action in the case of the two Dutch Arctic 30 members.
The Arctic 30 face possible sentences of 15 years in prison on charges of piracy. Greenpeace have set up a website, with a stock email that can be personalised, to make it easier for the public to join the campaign. To get involved in the email campaign visit: www.greenpeace.org/freeouractivists
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