MONTREAL – Three Greenpeace activists climbed the iconic Montreal Biosphere on Wednesday to raise awareness of the plight of activists held in a Russian prison for more than two months.
Greenpeace is calling on Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird to ask for the release of the remaining activists; two of whom are Canadian: Paul Ruzycki of Port Colborne, Ont. and Alexandre Paul of Montreal, Que. Ruzycki was granted bail Tuesday.
READ MORE: 2 Canadians among activists charged with piracy after protest
Russia detained 28 Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists when the Greenpeace ship, the Arctic Sunrise, was seized by the Russian coast guard after a protest near a Gazprom-owned oil rig on Sept. 18.
READ MORE: New video shows Russians seizing Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise
In Montreal, the protesters began their climb just before 8 a.m., a short time after Russia granted bail to two more of the Greenpeace activists arrested following a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.
The mother of Montreal Alexandre Paul was watching from the ground as the banner was unfurled.
“I’m inspired by these activists, their courage and their support for my son,” said Nicole Paul in a statement.
“I see people taking peaceful action, shining a light on injustice, just as Alex did in the Arctic before he was illegally detained.”
On Thursday, at a hearing in Primorskiy, her son will find out whether he is granted bail or if his pre-trial detention will be extended for three months, as it was for Australian Colin Russell on Monday.
The three climbers, Andreanne Lalonde, Philippe Dumont and David Major, scaled the Biosphere and unfurled a 15 × 10 metre banner that read “Libérez nos activistes #FreetheArctic30.”
While some of the activists have been granted bail, a Greenpeace spokesperson noted that this doesn’t mean that they are free.
“From a legal perspective, this is only a lull in the storm,” said Greenpeace Canada Arctic Campaign coordinator Christy Ferguson in a statement.
“As long as piracy and hooliganism charges still stand, the Arctic 30 are facing the possibility of long jail terms.”
The Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister has fought to obtain the release of the Greenpeace activists.
“I feel responsible for the ship and its crew because it’s a ship that sails under the Dutch flag,” Frans Timmermans told reporters in The Hague, Netherlands.
READ MORE: Netherlands seeks release of Greenpeace crew
On Friday, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, a Hamburg-based international body responsible for adjudicating disputes arising out of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, is to decide on the Netherland’s request that the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise and the activists be released immediately.
Ferguson wants Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, to join in the call for the release of the Greenpeace activists.
“World leaders, Nobel laureates and human rights leaders are among the two million people calling for an end to the disproportionate and illegal detention of the Arctic 30,” she said.
“The Canadian government needs to break its silence and emphatically support the rights and freedom of Alexandre Paul and Paul Ruzycki.”
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