14 DAY TRIAL // Almost two months ago, 28 Greenpeace activists, a journalist and a Russian videographer were jailed in Russia following a protest against oil company Gazprom. Despite dozens of protests carried out worldwide, the environmentalists are yet to be released from prison.
Madonna, actress Marion Cotillard and Sir Paul McCartney seem to think that their getting involved in this conundrum can make a difference. Hence, all three have loud and clear voiced their complaints against Russia' decision not to release the Arctic 30.
As already reported, it was this past Thursday when Sir Paul McCartney sent a letter to President Vladimir Putin and asked him to make sure that the Greenpeace activists and the two journalists get to spend Christmas with their families.
“Forty-five years ago I wrote a song about Russia for the White Album, back when it wasn’t fashionable for English people to say nice things about your country.”
“That song had one of my favorite Beatles lines in it: 'Been away so long I hardly knew the place, gee it’s good to be back home.' Could you make that come true for the Greenpeace prisoners?” the musician wrote in his letter.
The following day, Madonna took to Twitter to urge ordinary folks to demand that the Arctic 30 be released from prison, Look to the Stars tells us.
“These 30 people are in prison in Russia for staging a peaceful protest in the Arctic,” the singer said. “Let your voice be heard. Let's bring these people home!” she added.
Actress Marion Cotillard, on the other hand, did not settle for flooding Twitter and Facebook with messages in support of the Arctic 30, and took part in a protest organized by Greenpeace members and other environmentalists in Paris.
The protest took place on Friday and, as part of it, Marion Cotillard willingly put herself in a cage and held up a sign that read as follows: “I am a climate defender.”
Shortly after they had been arrested by Russian authorities, the Greenpeace activists and the journalists were charged with piracy. Some time later, however, they were instead accused of hooliganism. If found guilty, they could be sentenced to seven years in prison.