Russia releases first Greenpeace activist, bails eight more

Saint Petersburg (AFP) - Russian authorities released a Brazilian Greenpeace activist from prison in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday after she was granted bail, the first of 20 arrested campaigners set to leave jail.

Ana Paula Maciel, a deckhand on Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise ship, walked out of jail following two months in detention after she and 18 crewmates were granted bail, the group said.

"Ana Paula Maciel has left prison! She is free! The first of the Arctic 30," Greenpeace's Russian office said on Twitter as hearings continued into the 30 activists charged with hooliganism over their protest against oil prospecting.

Greenpeace posted a photo of Maciel smiling broadly outside the prison and holding a piece of paper with the handwritten message "Save the Arctic".

Maciel was granted bail on Tuesday, prompting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to write on Twitter: "I am delighted with the news".

But her legal status remains unclear. "Ana Paula's passport has not yet been given back, so she definitely cannot leave right now," said Greenpeace spokesman Aaron Gray-Block.

Russia often requires people suspected of or charged with a crime to sign a document barring them to leave the city.

The decision to grant bail to prisoners including the US captain of Greenpeace's campaign ship has raised cautious hopes for the activists in a case that has caused global concern.

But they still face grave charges that could see them jailed for up to seven years for hooliganism.

The last of the activists to be granted bail after 9:00 pm was Marco Weber of Switzerland, one of the people who attempted to scale the Gazprom platform and was briefly held on a Russian patrol ship.

Earlier courts in Saint Petersburg -- who were considering whether to extend their detention by another three months -- granted bail to the veteran US captain Peter Willcox, Danish crew member Anne Mier Roer Jensen, Dutch citizens Faiza Oulahsen and Mannes Ubels, as well as Britain's Alexandra Harris, Kieron Bryan and Anthony Perett.

'Baffled and heartbroken'

Willcox is one of Greenpeace's most experienced activists who was also the captain of its Rainbow Warrior ship blown up by the French foreign intelligence service in 1985.

Russia had held the 30 crew members since September after activists scaled an oil rig in the Barents Sea owned by energy giant Gazprom to protest against oil prospecting.

Twelve activists had already been granted bail on Monday and Tuesday but were awaiting release pending the transfer of the bond funds from Greenpeace.

The crew members' detention caused an international outcry, with stars including Madonna and Paul McCartney and politicians such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling for their release.

'I'm going to enjoy fresh air'

Oulahsen appeared in court with the slogan "Save the Arctic" written on her palm and hugged a friend through the bars of her cage.

In a video released by Greenpeace from the courtroom, she said: "I'm going to enjoy the fact that I can walk more than just three yards in the cell and some fresh air".

Those granted bail remain under arrest until the funds are transferred. Greenpeace has said it will supply the bail payments of two million rubles ($60,750/45,200 euros) for each activist.

Greenpeace International on Wednesday said it had already posted bail for nine of the Arctic 30, but does not expect them to be released before the weekend and cautioned their future status was unclear.

"It is still not clear whether their movements will then be restricted. None of them have passports after they were confiscated," Greenpeace said.

Of the activists to have so far appeared before the court, only one has been ordered to stay in detention pending trial.

A court on Monday ordered Australian activist Colin Russell, 59, who acted as the ship's radio operator, to remain in pre-trial detention until February 24, a day after the end of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Greenpeace has said it was "baffled" as to why he was being treated more harshly than the others. Australia's ambassador to Moscow Paul Myler said he was going to the Russian foreign ministry on Wednesday to seek an explanation.