Netherlands takes legal action against Russia over Green Peace arrests

The Netherlands started a lawsuit against Russia over the arrests of 30 Green Peace ship members last month, media reported Friday. Both countries will now start a procedure to find three judges or lawyers to make a verdict on the case. If this procedure does not work out, the Netherlands will go to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg. The Arctic Sunrise ship was boarded on September 19 south of Nova Zembla by the Russians after protests on an Arctic oil rig owned by Russian state-controlled firm Gazprom. Thirty crew members, including two Dutchmen, were arrested indicted for piracy. According to Russian law they could be imprisoned up to fifteen years. According to Greenpeace, the ship was overpowered in international waters, while the Russians say that it happened in an exclusive economic zone where they are responsible for safety.