MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti) − Thirty activists and journalists detained aboard a Greenpeace ship in September were moved Monday out of their detention facility in the Arctic city of Murmansk and dispatched to St. Petersburg.
Greenpeace said the relocation of the group − which has been dubbed the Arctic 30 − began at 5:00 a.m. local time.
The Investigative Committee confirmed that the group was being moved and said the transfer was needed as the body investigating the case is based in St. Petersburg.
The 28 activists and two reporters were detained in September during a protest at an Arctic Sea oil platform run by an affiliate of energy giant Gazprom.
St. Petersburg is situated around 1,080 kilometers (650 miles) south of Murmansk.
The investigators initially charged all 30 people aboard the icebreaker with piracy, but later downgraded the charges to hooliganism. They face a maximum punishment of up to seven years in jail, if found guilty.
It was not immediately clear where they will be placed in St.Petersburg.
