Russia frees Greenpeace's Arctic activist

Australian Greenpeace activist Colin Russell, the last of the 30 Arctic detainees, was granted bail Thursday by a court in Russia's St. Petersburg, the group said in a statement here.

Among 30 activists on board Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise ship, he was detained in September by the Russian authorities after attempting to stage a protest against oil drilling in the sea.

Russell spent 71 days in detention in Russia.

"These 28 activists and two freelance journalists have finally been freed from prison but this is not over yet. They still stand accused of a crime they did not commit," said Ben Ayliffe, Arctic campaigner at Greenpeace International.

The group was originally arrested and indicted for piracy and could, according to Russian law, be imprisoned up to 15 years.

All people have been released upon posting of a 2 million ruble bail ($60,000).