Another journalist on Arctic Sunrise held for two months

Reporters Without Borders has learned that another person was on the seized Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise in a journalistic capacity and that, like Russian photographer Denis Sinyakov, he was among those placed in two months detention yesterday by a court in the northwestern city of Murkmansk. It was British video reporter Kieron Bryan. As with Sinyakov, Reporters Without Borders urges the Russian authorities to free him at once and drop the investigation against him for alleged piracy. Bryan has worked in the past for two British newspapers, The Times and The Mirror, and for California-based Current TV, but has been working as a freelance reporter and filmmaker since January. Like Sinyakov, he was on the Arctic Sunrise not as a Greenpeace activist but in order to document its activities and provide reports to the international media. Many Russian media masked photos on their front pages and websites today in protest against Sinyakov’s detention. Reporters Without Borders urges everyone to sign the petition for his release that is hosted on the site of independent radio Echo of Moscow (in Russian). Подписать (at the bottom of the page) -> Sign
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The Arctic Sunrise set off in late August for Russian Arctic waters to draw attention to the potential environmental consequences of oil exploration in the region. On 18 September, members of its crew tried to scale the Prirazlomnaya offshore drilling platform, which is operated by the Russian gas company Gazprom. The next day, Russian special forces seized control of the Arctic Sunrise and towed it to Murmansk, where the authorities began investigating the 30 people aboard for suspected piracy. Yesterday a court ordered 22 of them, including Sinyakov and Bryan, detained provisionally for two months. Read our previous statement on Denis Sinyakov. Main photo: Denis Sinyakov / Greenpeace
Inserted photo: Nick Cobbing / Greenpeace