A Russian court today rejected the bail requests of two British nationals remanded in custody along with the 28 other crew members of a Greenpeace ship that protested Arctic oil drilling.
A regional court in the northern city of Murmansk turned down the appeal to release a freelance British video journalist Kieron Bryan and Greenpeace activist Phillip Ball, who is also from Britain, the environmental group said.
Investigators have placed all 30 Greenpeace crew members from 18 countries in pre-trial detention for two months until late November and charged all 30 of them with piracy, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years.
On Wednesday, investigators said that "narcotic substances" had been found on the ship and several more activists would face new charges.
Earlier this week the court turned down the appeal to release four crew members including freelance Russian journalist Denis Sinyakov.
Greenpeace boss Kumi Naidoo sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking for a meeting and offering himself "as security" to have the activists released on bail.
In an interview with AFP, Naidoo said he was "extremely surprised" by Russia's response to a Greenpeace attempt to scale a state oil rig last month.
