Greenpeace Activist Counts Her Arrest Days in Russia

Gizem Akhan, one of 30 Greenpeace activists who have been arrested for protesting the oil drills in the North Pole, shared her arrest days with bianet. Arrived in Turkey recently, she held a press conference where she shared her story. 

“Oil means massive destruction for the environment” 

“I am studying gastronomy. I wanted to have my internship on a Greenpeace ship. I applied and got admitted to the North Pole Campaign. It was something that I really wanted to be a part of. 

“Before the campaign, everything was nice. We had amazing days on board: Fjords, whales…We have seen them all. We also went to some seismic research boats. I was there too. We only stayed there for an hour. That ship would drill under water for meters. When we were on it, we even had chest pain, just imagine what happens with other living organisms underneath. Massive destruction. Therefore, we went there with a great sense of faith.”

“I didn’t believe they would get on our ship” 

“They fired towards the water and boats from the platform. They cut the ropes that our friends were using to climb on the platform. They also cut through my boat. 

“When we returned to the ship, we went back to our daily routine. Authorities raided our ship the night after. I wasn’t expecting this at all. I heard something, I thought we were under surveillance or something. Then a friend of mine said a helicopter was approaching. I was still skeptical. Then they broke onto the ship with automatic rifles as we were out from dinner. 

“They gathered everyone around the dining area. They searched every corner of the ship and cut all communications with the rest of the world. They took all our computers, cell phones and other electronic devices. We could never get them back. They also took control of the ship. They shot down the engines. They dragged our ship to Murmansk.”

“I laughed at pirate charges” 

“Consular authorities told us that we would return to our ship within 24 hours. However, it wasn’t the case. They pushed us to sign things without the presence of our lawyers. We didn’t accept ti. When we asked for a lawyer, they asked us whether we handle everything with lawyers in Turkey. 

“I laughed loud when I was accused of piracy. I didn’t meet anybody the first 5 days of my arrest, it felt like I would stay there for 15 years. Then we heard about all the support work for our freedom.”

“I will struggle for human rights”

“We understood that we were doing well when we saw other inmates. Because authorities were treating us better. In St. Petersburg, all other inmates were so afraid of guardians. 

“Turkish Consulate helped us a a lot. After we returned, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called me. 

“My two months of arrest in Russia bolstered my motivation. From now, I will also struggle for human rights as well as for environmental rights.” (EA/BM)