A campaign has been launched to release an environmental activist who is in prison in Russia.
Frank Hewetson, 45, from Queen’s Park, was arrested and detained by Russian officials as he took part in action for Greenpeace in the Arctic.
On Tuesday he was denied bail at the prison in Murmansk and his partner, Nina Gold, said afterwards: “Frank has now spent three weeks locked up thousands of miles away from his family. He is accused of an absurd crime which clearly none of the Arctic 30 are guilty of committing.
“The only thing he is guilty of is participating in an entirely peaceful protest to raise awareness of a cause that he passionately believes in – protecting the planet and the fragile wilderness of the Arctic. “He has two teenage children back home who miss him terribly, and not knowing when we’ll be able to see him again is agony.”
The couple live with their children Nell, 16, and Joe, 13, in Chevening Road, Queen’s Park.
Politicians in Brent are calling for Mr Hewetson’s release by writing to the Russian Embassy.
In a joint letter, Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, James Denselow, Queen’s Park ward councillor, Neil Nerva, Labour candidate for Queen’s Park, Ellie Southwood, Labour candidate for Queen’s Park and Tulip Siddiq, Labour parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn wrote: “It is clearly outrageous to lock up peaceful protesters in this manner. President Putin himself has said he did not believe the team were pirates.
“We ask that you immediately release the 30 activists who have been detained by Russian authorities in Murmansk and while being detained, ensure the activists have access to full legal representation of their own choice, consular services, translators, and human rights inspectors.”
On September 18, a small group of Greenpeace International activists approached the Gazprom Prirazlomnaya oil platform, in the Pechora Sea off the Russian coast, as part of a peaceful protest against Arctic oil drilling.
Two activists were detained and held overnight on a Russian Coast Guard vessel.
The following day the Russian Coast Guard boarded the Greenpeace International ship Arctic Sunrise and all 30 members of the crew were held under armed guard for five days as the ship was towed to the port of Murmansk. The activists were then transferred to prison.
Mr Hewetson, logistics coordinator on the ship, is being held with 27 others from Greenpeace and two filmmakers and are facing an investigation for possible piracy, which holds a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Greenpeace said in a statement: “He is a respectfully determined and intelligent man. Frank is a loving husband and father. He plays ping pong as a hobby, and gets intense pleasure from planning outdoor adventures with his family and their dog Pluto. Frank was motivated to join the trip by his passion for protecting the Arctic from dangerous drilling for fossil fuels.”
A quoted a letter from the father-of-two said: “(If) I walk round the flooded 5m x 5m concrete pen 80 times it’s the equivalent of walking [from home] to Queen’s Park tube station.”
To mark 30 days of detention for the Arctic 30, Greenpeace will tomorrow (Friday) hold Solidarity Actions across the globe together with partner NGOs, celebrities and supporters.
