Russian authorities have charged with piracy the thirty Greenpeace activists who, on 18 September, attempted to board the Gazprom-owned Prirazlomnaya oil platform from the vessel Arctic Sunrise. Among them is an Italian: Cristian D'Alessandro. All of them face up to 15 years in prison.

The spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, declared that "all those who took part in the assault on the platform will be prosecuted, without any exception or regard for their nationality". The vessel has been impounded.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace International has called on all its national chapters to demand the activists' immediate release, through demonstrations outside Russian embassies and through a petition. According to Greenpeace, the action was peaceful and "in line with the organisation's principles". The organisation also stated that the real crime is exploiting fossil fuel reserves that are causing irreversible damage to the climate.