After two months of being held in a Russian jail, 26 of the so-called ‘Arctic 30’ Greenpeace protesters have been released on bail.
One other has been denied bail and will be held until the end of February. The final three will hear their fate on Friday.
The activists told reporters waiting outside they had not committed any crime, and had only taken part in a peaceful protest.
In Warsaw, 34 Greenpeace members were detained after they unrolled a banner at an International Climate Conference calling for their fellow activists to be released.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was in Warsaw, appealed to Russia to show leniency saying environmentalists played an important role in society.
“In this world the civil societies they play a very important role. It’s not only the government or business communities who make this world move. A very important, significant important part is now shared by a civil society, including Greenpeace,” Ban Ki-moon said.
The Greenpeace group were
