The Netherlands goes to international tribunal to free Arctic Sunrise crew

The Netherlands has asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg to order the release of 30 people detained last month when staging an environmental protest in the Arctic Sea. According to Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans, it was unjust to detain the 28 Greenpeace activists and two journalists on charges of piracy. He said the Netherlands has demanded that the crew and the ship "Arctic Sunrise" be released immediately. The activists from 19 countries were detained on September 19 by the Russian authorities after protesting on an Arctic oil rig owned by Russian state-controlled firm Gazprom. The thirty people including two Dutchmen, were arrested and indicted for piracy. According to Russian law they could be imprisoned up to fifteen years. The Netherlands is taking action because the Arctic Sunrise sails under a Dutch flag.