Elevate your local knowledge

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

One of them Canadians being held in Russia on hooliganism charges has written a letter describing his detention.

Montrealer Alexandre Paul and Paul Ruzycki, of Port Colborne, Ont., were among those arrested on the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise.

In a handwritten letter released by the organization today, Paul says he’s isolated from his fellow activists and shares a cell with a man who doesn’t speak English.

He says winter is settling in, but the organization has made sure they have extra clothes and food.

Paul hopes Canadians show their opposition to the detention of the 30 people aboard the ship, by signing petitions and contacting federal politicians.

He writes that the arrest and detention are both “unfair and illegal.”

Russia seized Arctic Sunrise after a Sept. 18 protest at a Gazprom oil-drilling platform in the Arctic circle.

The 30 aboard were initially charged with piracy but those charges have since been reduced to hooliganism.That charge carries a maximum seven-year prison sentence upon conviction.

Greenpeace has denied any wrongdoing and describes the charges as absurd.

News from © The Canadian Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.