MOSCOW, March 17 (RAPSI) – Greenpeace activists and members of the press filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) challenging their arrests in September 2013 following a protest at a Gazprom drilling platform, Greenpeace announced Monday.

According to the Greenpeace statement, 30 members of the Arctic Sunrise crew filed applications with the ECHR seeking recognition that their arrests were unlawful.

The Arctic Sunrise ship was seized by Russian border guards on September 19 in international waters, within Russia's exclusive economic zone, a day after Greenpeace activists scaled the Prirazlomnaya drilling rig in the Pechora Sea, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea.

30 people were on board the vessel. All of them were detained and charged with piracy. Later the piracy charges were replaced with hooliganism charges. In November all those who had been detained were released on bail. Later, they were pardoned under the amnesty announced by President Vladimir Putin.