Canadian Greenpeace activists held in Russia released on bail
Next step is to help them leave, lawyers say
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia The two Canadian activists held in Russia after an Arctic protest in September have been released from custody.
Paul Ruzycki of Port Colborne, Ont., and Alexandre Paul of Montreal were among those from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise released Friday.
Nicole Paul, Alexandre Paul’s mother, said she wanted to hold her son in her arms as soon as possible.
Patti Stirling, Ruzycki’s sister, called word of her brother’s release the best news her family has had in a long time and said it means part of a nightmare is over.
The two Canadians were among 30 people from the ship who were arrested following an anti-oil drilling protest in Arctic waters two months ago.
All but one of the 30 were free on bail Friday after spending more than two months in Russian jails. The only one to be denied bail, an Australian activist, also was expected to be released after his appeal was heard.
Greenpeace lawyers said they would now focus on helping the foreign citizens to leave Russia.
President Vladimir Putin suggested this would be possible, jokingly telling Turkey’s visiting leader that the environmental activists would soon be heading his way.
“We have no desire to exacerbate the situation or hold someone specially,” Putin said during a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Soon they will all be going to Turkey and will do good work on your projects.”
But in response to a question of whether Erdogan would be allowed to take a freed Turkish female activist back with him, a smiling Putin said that would be impossible: “He came with his wife, so who else can he take along? What kind of question are you asking?”
The U.S. captain of the ship, veteran Greenpeace activist Peter Willcox, was among 18 freed on Friday. The others were released late Wednesday and Thursday.
“I feel like I’m down out of the tree but still in the forest,” Willcox told journalists. “But it’s a big step.”
Family of both the Canadians called for the charges against the activists to be abandoned.
“Paul is finally out of prison, and part of this nightmare is over,” said Stirling, Ruzycki’s sister. “But this senseless horror film will really end when the piracy and hooliganism charges are abandoned.”
Nicole Paul said she had been “waiting for this moment for more than two months, every day, every night.”
The comments from Stirling and Nicole Paul were released through Greenpeace.
Reached at their home in Pike River, Que., Paul’s parents told The Canadian Press their son was not happy the Canadian government hadn’t exerted more pressure on Russia to release the activists.
“Mr. Harper didn’t do nothing,” said Raymond Paul, Alexandre Paul’s father. “Why didn’t he call Mr. Putin ... Nothing has been said. Maybe Mr. Harper has got a lot of trouble with his party.”
That was echoed by Nicole Paul, who spoke briefly with her son on Friday.
She said he was going to have a coffee with his lawyer before getting supper and then some sleep.
“He was very tired, exhausted,” said the mother. Otherwise, she said her son told her he was in good shape but will undergo a complete physical and meet with a psychologist who specializes in treating people who have been detained.
The parents said both Canadians had to remain in Russia for the time being while on bail and are being housed at the same hotel. While Paul’s mother and father know the story is not over, they remain elated.