01x06 - Episode 6

[bunniefuu]

This program me contains

some strong language

NEWS REPORT: He walked to vote

with a swagger.

Rarely has an election been

such a foregone conclusion.

SPEAKING RUSSIAN:

It was an incredibly daring mission.

It needed to be done.

But the plan, I think

you could say, went to sh*t.

g*nf*re

NEWS REPORT: High drama

on the high seas tonight.

Russian forces have seized

control of a Greenpeace ship.

It felt like being in the middle

of a James Bond film.

15 years stuck in a Russian prison.

How did I get here?

Dealing with Putin - this was

a different game altogether.

It's like a ticking time b*mb here.

How the hell are we going to

get them out?

NEWS REPORT: As President Putin's

time in office has gone on,

the Kremlin has become less

and less tolerant of dissent

For the 30 crew of the

Arctic Sunrise being held here

Earlier this week, the Netherlands

took Russia to court,

calling for

international intervention

to secure their release.

Yeah, we went in hard

on the ITLOS case.

And the legal team released

Phil's footage, you know,

to try to make an impact.

The video appears to show

the activists peacefully

submitting to their arrest.

But then the court was adjourned.

The hearing is now closed.

It was going to be a few weeks

until we found out what

the verdict was going to be.

You got this really weird situation

where our legal team

were saying, that went

about as well as it could have.

But at the same time,

you're kind of thinking, like,

does any of this even matter?

Like, as if Putin gives a sh*t

what the International Tribunal

for the Law of the Sea says.

I mean, we just doubted ourselves

all the time, you know,

we really did.

We felt that we weren't so much

playing chess with Putin,

so much as we were pieces

on a chess board.

And actually, there was

a reallyan even bigger game

going on between Russia

and the outside world, the West.

NEWS REPORT: The protestors here

feel they're fighting for the future

of the country - a European future,

not a Russian one.

"Russia without Putin" they chant.

At the helm,

opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

President Obama has said

that Russia has stepped back

into a Cold w*r mentality.

Russia has a long history

of fearing foreign intervention.

Napoleon invaded.

Hitler invaded.

During the cold w*r,

the CIA are doing their best

to undermine the Soviet Union,

so that fear of sort of being

vulnerable to outside forces

is very strong.

All the women were

in solitary confinement.

It's inhumane.

When I was feeling down,

it was complete darkness and doom.

I'm going to be here for 15 years.

I'm going to lose out

on the best years of my life.

Ancl I remember from the prison yard,

I could see the prison hospital,

where you could see that there were

imprisoned women with small

children. Like, with babies.

I remember those children, like,

standing against the prison window

and looking out.

It's really heart-breaking.

I didn't know

if I wanted to have children.

But if we get imprisoned

for 15 years,

that decision is taken away from me.

Alone in my cell, I was thinking

often about the winter Olympics.

They were coming up

and that was actually

my biggest hope.

This is the moment for Russia

to show themselves

to the rest of the world.

And when you try to do that,

you don't want to have 30 activists

from 18 different countries

in prison.

We look forward and see that,

in February 2014,

there's the Sochi Olympics.

It was going to be the most

expensive Olympics in history,

and that makes it an ideal

opportunity for us

to put pressure on Putin.

So, the Sochi Olympics came

very soon after the very big

street protests against Putin.

And if he could pull them off

and make a success of them,

I think he felt that would really

go a long way to re-establishing

the stability of his own power.

He didn't want a repeat of what

had happened last time Russia

hosted the summer Olympics, in 1980.

After the Soviet Union

had invaded Afghanistan,

the western nations en masse

boycotted them,

which was a terrible blow for

the then Soviet Union.

So, Putin wanted to keep

the rest of the world onside.

Our feeling was,

if they were still in jail

after the Sochi Olympics,

that would be very, very bad.

Because we wouldn't then

have that lever, where we

could make trouble at the Olympics.

There's, like,

a ticking time b*mb here.

Ancl if we don't get them out

before Sochi,

then potentially, we're f*cked.

We were up against

this huge monolith -

the might of the Russian

political and judicial system.

It was Putin, and what did

we have against him?

We had the international media.

But we weren't getting the traction

we really needed in Russia.

Ancl so we called up the Russian

office and we said, you know,

"Who is the most famous person

in Russia that we could get

"to support this campaign?"

and she, you know,

without missing a beat said

Paul McCartney.

He's really huge in Russia.

Beatles are very important

in Russia.

I think it's like one of the bands

which were more or less

kind of tolerated to listen,

like, in the Soviet Union.

They said that Paul McCartney

is about the only person who can

command media in Russia in the same

way that Vladimir Putin can.

In 2003, Putin invited

Paul McCartney to come to Russia

All right. Red Square, red jacket.

and at the Red Square concert,

Putin turned up at half-time.

Not only is he widely admired

in Russia,

but he's admired by the man

in the Kremlin himself.

Ancl so it became the mission

to try to get Paul McCartney.

So, people started

trying to get to him.

You're emailing people to try to

get email addresses, so you can

email them to get more email

addresses, to get closer and closer,

where, eventually,

he will read an email from you.

Ancl we did that.

And we got one back.

Holy f*cking sh*t!

He said he'd do it.

Paul McCartney is going to write

to Vladimir Putin

on behalf of the Arctic 30.

The letter itself was couched

absolutely right.

He wasn't telling Putin to do it,

he was saying that

if you let them go, you will be seen

as a magnanimous and just ruler.

Ancl it just f*cking exploded.

It was just everywhere in Russia.

Paul McCartney has written to Putin.

I think he had a really big impact,

because it was the only chance

that we got to really tell

the story of the Arctic 30,

unimpeded and unedited.

It was great.

We hoped perhaps this could

get them out of Russian jail

and get them home.

Russian authorities

are dropping charges of piracy

against the 30 people detained

on a Greenpeace ship in the Arctic.

We had this kind of surge of,

is this it?

Is this it? Like, f*ck!

They're getting out.

This is going to be nuts.

NEWS REPORT: Russia has lifted

the piracy charges

against 30 Greenpeace activists

and replaced them

with accusations of hooliganism.

Very, very quickly we learnt

that they had been changed

to a charge of hooliganism.

I mean, we were just

It was so bad.

That's not good news.

Well, piracy, with

10 to 15 year sentence,

that's completely unbelievable.

Hooliganism charge,

which is the same charge

that was brought against

p*ssy Riot,

that carries a sentence of,

you know, I think

up to three or four years.

Ancl that's something that

I can believe might happen.

I mean, it was a charge

that was being specifically used

against protestors.

Hooliganism signal led an escalation.

So, we're coming up

to the end of the two months

of pre-trial detention,

and then our boss comes up

on the big screen and says,

"I've got bad news. We have heard

that they're going to ask

"for a significant extension

of the detention."

That would take us

beyond the Sochi Olympics.

They're not getting out.

Ancl I remember everyone

just slumping into their seats.

Ancl there was a real sense

of dejection.

But the lawyers tell us there's

actually an opportunity here,

because the change of charges

means that we can actually

apply for bail a second time.

The hearing was going to be

end of November.

But in all honesty,

we just didn't have much faith.

We felt that they're serious

about sending them to jail

for a long time.

I remembered I got a visit

from the British Consulate.

They said, "Look, we've had

a chat with the Greenpeace staff,

"and we want to tell you that

it's not looking that good."

And then one of them said, "Look,

maybe it's time for the apology."

And I said, "To who?"

And he went, "Well, to

the government, to Vladimir Putin."

Want you to say, basically,

you got it all wrong

and you made a hideous mistake

and you apologise.

I was thinking, "Well, maybe

this is what we have to do."

But this funny little tingling

in the back of my spine,

which managed to stiffen my spine.

I remember saying to him,

I said, "Man, I can't do that."

You have to have belief

in what you're doing.

I never really once doubted

that what we did was

the right thing to do.

Maybe the methods can be misguided,

but fundamentally,

the cause is right.

But I left that meeting

really, really upset.

I had no doubt we were

going to be taught a lesson

by the Russian state.

Going into those

second bail hearings,

we hoped that something

would happen.

But ultimately,

we didn't think it would.

The first one up was Colin Russell.

He's this beautiful guy,

an Australian radio operator.

You really want Colin to get out.

Russell, Colin.

That's correct.

He goes up there and

the Skype message comes through -

bail has been refused.

Bye-bye, everybody.

They've given him a further

three months of pre-trial detention.

Ancl it takes us beyond Sochi.

That was horrible,

because I knew that the rest of us

would then be refused.

When that news reached me,

that was like somebody

had punched me in the face.

I knew that we were still

going to be in prison

during the Sochi Olympics.

Ancl then I knew we're going to

be in here for a long time.

Then at some point,

this other message comes through,

and it says, you know, like,

something interesting is

happening at Katya's case.

The court had a break,

and then the judge came back in.

I had the feeling that some

important call reached them.

Suddenly, I don't know

what happened - a miracle.

"Lawyer asking for bail."

"judge saying considering bail."

"Just saying bail is granted."

That's What?

That must be a mistake,

cos Colin didn't get bail.

Why would there be a difference?

Ancl then you know,

big exclamation marks.

"Confirmation! Bail has been

granted! Bail has been granted!"

Like, f*cking hell. Like, Jesus!

Yes! Yes!

just huge whoops and, you know,

mass rush of endorphins.

Ancl it was like the first,

like, sense of a breakthrough

after all this time.

Three weeks in, I was given a TV.

This was happening on the news

at the time, and I was like,

no, they've got this wrong,

Are you sure?

Because Colin was refused bail.

Why is Katya getting bail?

Denis was up next.

Ancl then, "Bail also granted."

"Bail also granted."

Ancl then they started

just going through them.

Everyone was getting bail.

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

Be nice.

I'm always nice!

HE LAUGHS

I remember going to the bail hearing

and I was in my normal

militant mood.

The prosecutor should be clone

for contempt of court.

Contempt of court.

Contempt of court.

just sayit means being naughty

in court.

I just remember being

really annoyed with them.

This whole court thing was just

complete political theatre, really.

How has this been for you?

How have you been holding up?

I love it, because this case

is bringing attention

to Gazprom and what they're doing.

So, the longer we're in here,

the stronger we get, really.

It's just utter bullshit.

I just wanted to get out.

Ancl they just said,

"Do you agree to all this stuff?"

Ancl I was just like, "Yes!"

And uh,

it was brilliant.

This is lain coming out now.

WHOOPS/CAMERAS CLICK

It's a change of heart by

the judges here in Russia.

Suddenly, one by one,

all the Greenpeace activists

are being given bail.

Thank you.

You must be very relieved

to get out?

Oh, I'm so happy.

I never thought this clay would come.

It all happened,

like, really quickly.

I had to sign some papers

and then they were just like,

"There's the door out."

And I was just like, what, what?

I can just walk out now?

Sini, how are you?

I'm free!

Congratulations!

And then we were driving, and then

I was like, can I open the window?

And they were like, "Sure."

So, I was sitting in the back seat,

so I just opened the window

and I put myself out

and I was just, like,

shouting, " | 'm free!"

And they were driving and laughing,

and they thought that

it was so hilarious.

But it was, like, that trip,

it feels like I was,

I don't know, high or something.

I was just like

It's, like, all in a cloud.

But, yeah, it was fantastic.

Putin doesn't like to be

pushed into doing things.

So, by granting them bail of his own

volition before he was going

to be called upon to grant them

bail, he was again being seen

as being his own master,

being the man in charge of things.

I still celebrate the clay

I walked out of prison.

November 22nd -

it's my liberation clay.

Every year.

It has changed me a lot.

Before, I felt desperate and anxious

in front of the question

of climate change.

But then somehow what

happened around the world

somehow changed me and my thinking.

Like, the hope

and the trust have dared me

to make the decision

that I want to have children.

Ancl that I, yeah, now have a child.

I left with the intention

that I would continue to be

an activist for Greenpeace,

but then I had to prioritise

my mental health.

I'm a mum to a three-year-old now,

and I don't think I could ever put

myself in that position again.

NEWS REPORTS: just weeks before

Russia host the winter Olympics

Russia's parliament unanimously

approved a sweeping amnesty

for prisoners

In all, up to 25,000 people

across Russia will be freed,

and that would include those

charged with hooliganism

The Arctic 30 were very high-profile

international protestors,

so it is quite likely that it was

the Arctic 30 case which pushed him

into granting this blanket amnesty

that let all the others go as well.

I'm hopeful that,

because of what happened with us,

it helped some people get

released from a Russian jail.

If that's true - and I believe it

is, because it's convenient for me

to believe that -

if that's true, I think

that's the greatest achievement

of the Arctic 30 experience.

I think that all the major players

probably were quite happy

with the result.

CHEERING

Greenpeace survives on publicity.

I also think Russia did very well

out of it as well.

Not so much the Russian people,

but the Russian state.

I don't think anyone's protested

a Russian oil rig since.

I haven't, that's for sure!

NEWS REPORT: This is not what

the Winter Olympics

are supposed to look like.

Russian Cossacks whipping members of

the dissident punk band p*ssy Riot.

Greenpeace and p*ssy Riot,

it was like these two cases

was a symbol of a crack.

Russia was on the path to becoming

a totalitarian dictatorship.

The case of the Arctic 30

signal led a real turning point

in Putin's approach to power.

It was one of the clearest signals

of what was to come in Russia.

NEWS REPORT: Russia has now embarked

on the annexation of Crimea.

And things since 2014

went very rapidly downhill.

A Russian court has sentenced

opposition leader

Alexei Navalny to another

lengthy prison sentence.

There's a whole new set of rules

designed to squash

any protest whatsoever.

Russian authorities

have now branded Greenpeace

as an undesirable organisation.

All this to just keep

one person in power.

SCREAMING

In the end, I left Russia because if

you don't have a right to protest,

then you cannot fight

for nothing else.

AIR-RAID SIRENS SOUND

Oil and gas have paid

for Putin's w*r.

We did not stop Gazprom

from production -

Prirazlomnaya went online while we

were in the cell.

They're continuing to extract oil.

Ancl some of that was coming into

the UK, even after the sanctions.

I do have a fear of how

things are going to look like

if we don't stop this in time.

Sometimes I find it so overwhelming.

I can feel incredibly powerless,

and then I think,

how can I live with myself

if I knew what was coming

but I didn't do anything about it?

I want to be able to look

my son in the eyes,

20 years from now,

and even if we didn't succeed,

I want to be able to look him

in the eyes and tell him

I did everything I could.