Press release - 20 November, 2013
Amsterdam, 20 November 2013 - Greenpeace International activist Ana Paula Alminhana Maciel of Brazil has today been released from detention, the first of the Arctic 30 to leave prison following the granting of bail by a St Petersburg court.
The Primorsky court in St Petersburg granted bail to Ana Paula, a biologist, on Tuesday pending the payment of 2 million ruble bail. She has now left the detention centre, but the conditions of her bail are not yet fully known.
Ana Paula’s mother Rosangela Maciel said:
"As a mother, my heart always told me to keep the faith. I cannot wait for the moment to hold my beloved daughter in my arms and safe back home. We know the case has not finished yet, but Ana Paula is a warrior and will overcome everything in the end."
Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said:
“The sight of our beloved friend Ana Paula walking through the gates of that detention centre is something that millions of people around the world will embrace as a sign of hope. Hope that twenty-nine other brave men and women will soon follow her, hope that they might soon see their families, hope that their message about the fragile beautiful Arctic will one day be heeded. She was seized at gunpoint two months ago and since then she has lived behind bars, away from her loved ones, locked up for 23 hours a day, all for her part in a peaceful protest. But she is still charged with a serious crime, she could still spend years in jail, while her friend Colin was refused bail. None of our people will be truly free until they are all back home with their families.”
Ana Paula has been with Greenpeace since 2006, when she first began volunteering for the organisation in Brazil.
Photo and video of her release available from Greenpeace International.
ENDS
Contacts:
Greenpeace International press desk: +31 20 718 24 70 or 
Greenpeace International picture desk: +31 20 718 24 71
Greenpeace International video desk: +31 20 718 24 72