MOSCOW, December 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said at marathon press conference Thursday that Greenpeace activists jailed detained this year will likely be amnestied, but that their jailing should serve as a lesson.
Putin called on the environmental group to collaborate with the government in furthering its goals instead of undertaking attention-grabbing actions to fulfil their cause.
They should not just “raise a clamor, but minimize ecological risks, should they appear,” Putin said. “We are open to joint efforts, including with Greenpeace.”
Twenty-eight Greenpeace activists were detained by security agents while mounting a protest against Arctic drilling at an oil platform controlled by an affiliate of state-run Gazprom. Two reporters were also arrested during the protest.
The activists’ ship, the Arctic Sunrise, was boarded by Russian security agents and the protestors detained on piracy charges, which were later downgraded to hooliganism charges.
The amnesty law approved by lawmakers this week to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Russian constitution is expected to release thousands of prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes, primarily among pensioners, pregnant women or mothers with young children, and victims of the Chernobyl disaster.
A lawyer representing imprisoned Pussy Riot punk band member Maria Alyokhina told RIA Novosti on Thursday that he expected her imminent release in the coming hours, as she fell under the amnesty provision for mothers with children. Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova also appears to be eligible for release under the amnesty law. Their prison terms were to end in March.
There has been speculation the amnesty might apply to demonstrators imprisoned at an opposition protest at Bolotnaya Square in Moscow in May. Last week, the human rights watchdog Amnesty International labeled twelve of the demonstrators prisoners of conscience.
Putin poured cold water on any suggestion about their immediate release.
“It’s a difficult situation. Many say that the protestors did nothing wrong. But only a court can decide whether or not they broke the law,” Putin said.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, convicted of lumber theft this summer, will not fall under the amnesty provisions.
Putin noted that the amnesty was proposed in parliament by the United Russia party, which he headed for many years.
He added that in other countries, people resisting the police, including women and children, were shot.
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