MOSCOW — A court in Murmansk on Monday refused bail to the captain of a Greenpeace ship whose 30-member crew has been detained in the north Russian city after it sailed to an oil platform to protest drilling.
The court sided with prosecutors who argued that Peter Willcox, a U.S. citizen with Maine ties, should remain behind bars because he could hinder the course of justice or go into hiding, Russian news agencies reported.
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The court also denied bail to Argentinian activist Camila Speziale and New Zealander David Haussmann, bringing the number of rejected appeals for bail in the case to nine, according to Greenpeace.
The hearing of a 10th activist, Cristian D’Alessandro of Italy, was postponed to Tuesday, the environmental group said.
Greenpeace has appealed the detentions of all 30 of the crew members. The appeal hearings were expected to last until at least next week.
The 28 activists and two journalists were arrested after their ship was seized by the coast guard Sept. 19, one day after the protest. They were charged with piracy, which carries a jail term of up to 15 years, and the court sanctioned their detentions for two months.
Willcox had earlier been fined $620 for refusing orders to sail his ship, the Arctic Sunrise, to Murmansk, the Interfax news agency reported. The vessel was subsequently towed.
A veteran activist, Willcox was the captain of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in 1985 when it was bombed by French agents, killing a photographer.
Greenpeace has called the accusations trumped up and demanded that Russian authorities release the crew and return their ship.
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