Two Britons arrested by Russian authorities during a Greenpeace protest in the Arctic have been freed on bail after spending two months in detention.
Anthony Perrett, from Newport in south Wales, and freelance journalist Kieron Bryan are the first of the six Britons who are part of the so-called Arctic 30 to leave detention.
The move followed court hearings in St Petersburg.
Mr Bryan told BBC News it had been "tough" for the group, who were arrested two months ago.
"More than anything, it's the isolation and not being able to speak to anyone, not being able to speak a common language.
"Being trapped in a cell for 24 hours a day is something I don't ever want to experience again, and there are a lot of people inside who have to carry on doing that," he said.
Yesterday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Russia to show leniency towards the activists.
Mr Ban said groups such as Greenpeace had a role in shaping the world, not just governments and business.
"They (Russia) may have their own domestic rules and regulations, but I would hope that they would have some favourable and sympathetic considerations for this case," he said.
President Vladmir Putin said protecting the environment was a noble goal, but the ends did not justify the means.
"Is their cause noble? Yes, it is noble. Did they do the right thing when they climbed the platform? No, they did the wrong thing," Mr Putin said in televised comments.
During the protest, some of the activists tried to scale state-controlled Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya rig.
The activists could have caused an accident by distracting the platform's operators, Mr Putin said.
The activists were initially charged with piracy and faced up to 15 years in jail over the 18 September.
Mr Putin said a week after the protest that the activists were clearly not pirates and investigators later changed the charge to hooliganism, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.
They had been denied bail until hearings this week to decide whether they should be held for another three months.
By yesterday, courts had granted 26 of the 30 bail and ruled that one, Australian Colin Russell, can be held until 24 February.
The rulings follow criticism of Mr Putin over what has widely been seen in the West as the harsh treatment of the activists.
Those released include citizens of the UK, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland and Russia.
Greenpeace, which said its protest was peaceful and the charges unfounded, is concerned drilling for oil in the Arctic threatens the environment.
Mr Putin has said development and shipping there are important to Russia's economy and security.
