MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - The Russian Justice Ministry has no relation to the enforcement of The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling on the payment of compensation for the seizure of Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise vessel by Russia, Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said.
"This is surely not our jurisdiction. What do we have to do with this?" Konovalov said in reply to a question from Interfax.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled on August 24 that the Netherlands can claim compensation from Russia in the case over the seizure of the Arctic Sunrise in September 2013.
On September 19, 2013, Russian border guards detained 30 crewmembers of Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise icebreaker for an attempt to stage a protest action at the Prirazlomnaya oil platform in the Sea of Pechora. The environmentalists were brought to Murmansk where the court placed them under arrest. On November 12, all the crewmembers were escorted to detention centers in St. Petersburg. Courts in St. Petersburg later decided to release them on bail for two million rubles each.
The detention of the activists caused broad public uproar, including abroad.
Russia first charged the environmentalists with piracy, and then their actions were re-qualified as disorderly conduct.
The State Duma declared an amnesty on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution on December 18, 2013, and the Arctic Sunrise crew was pardoned.