In connection with the four members of Greenpeace, who are currently held in police custody, and who are citizens of Holland, Norway, Spain and Switzerland respectively, a number of visits have been paid by Greenpeace representatives to Danish embassies and consulates.During these meetings, Greenpeace representatives have had the opportunity to communicate their position on the remand into custody of the organisation’s members. Greenpeace’s position has been passed on to the appropriate Danish authorities. The case follows Danish legal procedures.The public prosecutor for Copenhagen explains in that connection: “Four individuals have been remanded into custody in the present case.The relevant four individuals have all been charged with falsification of documents according to the Danish Penal Code, article 172.2, cf. article 171, for having on 17 December 2009 around 8 p.m., together with a number of other (unidentified) members of Greenpeace, used false number plates to covertly pass through police admission checks, and for subsequently gaining entry to the official COP15 dinner, held at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen.The relevant individuals are furthermore charged with disturbing the peace (under article 264.1.1 of the Danish Penal Code) by seeking and gaining entry to the castle, and additionally for violation of article §115 of the Danish Penal Code. This article allows for a potential doubling of the sentence for disturbing the peace because the violation was directed against the monarch.The four individuals charged have all been presented in Copenhagen’s City Court for preliminary questioning. In rulings of 17 and 18 December 2009, the Court decided to remand the four Greenpeace members in custody until 7 January 2010. The City Court’s custody rulings were upheld by the Danish High Court on 23 December 2009.The Court explains the custody as necessitated by the ongoing investigation, with reference to article 762.1.3 of the Danish Administration of Justice Act.According to the Copenhagen Police authorities, no additional charges have subsequently been raised in the case, including charges based on violations of the Penal Code’s sections on terrorism.The police are currently considering whether there are sufficient reasons for seeking to extend the custody of the four individuals charged.The Copenhagen police authorities moreover confirm that none of the four individuals have been placed in solitary confinement, but that all four as a consequence of their custody are subject to letter checks and visitation control under the Administration of Justice Act, articles 771 and 772.”
