Russia releases Greenpeace detainees

A court in Russia has approved bail for two Britons arrested with 28 other people on a Greenpeace ship in the Arctic as other detainees left custody, BBC reported.The court in the northern city of St Petersburg granted bail to Frank Hewetson and Iain Rogers, along with Ukrainian detainee Ruslan Yakushev.Twenty others, including three Britons, have already been given bail.They have been detained for more than two months since their ship, the Arctic Sunrise, was seized during a protest.The Russian authorities have charged those aboard the ship them with hooliganism over the protest near an oil platform in the Arctic Ocean.Russia's reaction to the oil platform protest was far stronger than Greenpeace expected, the BBC's Daniel Sandford says.A Brazilian activist, Ana Paula Maciel, was the first of the detainees to leave custody, emerging from her prison in St Petersburg on Wednesday.On Thursday, three Russians - photographer Denis Sinyakov, Greenpeace press secretary Andrei Allakhverdov and ship's doctor Yekaterina Zaspa - were also freed to emotional scenes.Russian legal procedures mean there can be a delay of several days between bail being approved and actual release from custody. Bail of 2m roubles ($61,000, £38,000) was stipulated for each detainee.The three Britons bailed earlier this week are Alex Harris, Kieron Bryan and Anthony Perrett.Others granted bail include the ship's US captain, Peter Willcox, who previously skippered Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior ship when it was blown up by French agents in harbour in New Zealand in 1985.One detainee, Australian radio operator Colin Russell, was ordered to remain in pre-trial detention until 24 February. Greenpeace is lodging an appeal.ANN.Az