Australian Colin Russell was not one of the three members of the Greenpeace “Arctic 30” finally granted bail by a court in Saint Petersburg.  This first sign of leniency is being viewed with hope that Russian officials will keep it going through the Winter Olympic Games Russia is hosting in Sochi next year.

The court ordered the release of the ship’s medic, Yekaterina Zaspa; photographer Denis Sinyakov; and crewmember Andrei Allakhverdov.  All three are Russian.

A different court extended the detention Colin Russell for three months while the investigation continues.  That means our Colin could stay in prison until 24 February, a day after the Winter Games are scheduled to end (and some fear Russia stops acting like it cares what the world thinks).

Russian commandos stormed the Greenpeace “Arctic Sunrise” ship in September, arrested all 28 crewmembers and two journalists and seized the ship.  This, after Greenpeace protesters attempted to board a Russian oil-drilling platform to try and stop it from fouling the pristine arctic environment.  The case has drawn protests from governments and celebrities including Madonna and Paul McCartney, the latter of whom met Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2003 and made a personal appeal on behalf of the Greenpeace protesters.