LONDON: Greenpeace organised protests in 263 cities around the world yesterday to mark two months since 30 of its environmental activists were jailed in Russia over a demonstration against Arctic drilling.
The group said it hoped thousands of people would take part in the protests, which were taking place from London and Berlin to Delhi and Buenos Aires.
In a case that has sparked an international outcry, the crewmembers of Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise ship were detained on September 18 after several of them scaled an oil platform run by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom.
British supporters staged peaceful protests at some 70 petrol stations run by Anglo-Dutch energy company Shell, which has links to Gazprom, Greenpeace said.
In the German cities of Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt, protesters were planning lantern-lit marches to Russian consulates, while in Budapest, protesters used candles to spell out the words “free the Arctic 30” in huge letters.
AFP
