Greenpeace foreign activist denied Russia exit visa: group

Russia has denied a foreign Greenpeace activist permission to leave the country pending his trial over an Arctic protest, the group said on Friday.

Greenpeace has received a letter from the Investigative Committee, which probes major cases in Russia, saying a foreign national activist could not receive an exit visa, Greenpeace spokeswoman Maria Favorskaya told AFP.

She did not identify the activist, one of 26 foreign nationals who are currently staying in Saint Petersburg as they await trial on charges of hooliganism.

The 26 were arrested along with four Russian nationals aboard Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise ship after they staged a protest in September against Arctic oil drilling by Russian state giant Gazprom.

The Investigative Committee said the foreigners could not be granted exit visas because their passports do not have Russian entry stamps, Favorskaya said.

The Greenpeace crew, including two freelance journalists, was arrested aboard its ship by Russian security forces, who then towed the ship to Russia and placed the activists in jail.

The crew first faced charges of piracy that were later reduced to hooliganism, which carry a maximum of seven years in prison.

A court in Russia’s second city last month released the crew on bail.

Favorskaya said the Investigative Committee’s decision was “unfounded,” adding that according to a court ruling the activists were free to travel.