The 26 foreign nationals facing charges of piracy for their role in a Greenpeace protest in the Arctic Sea have been refused exit visas and will have to wait for their trial in Russia.

The environmental group said on Friday it had applied for exit visas last week. One of the crew, a Danish national, has been refused leave to go home and the rest are likely to face the same decision, Greenpeace is quoted as saying by Dutch media.

Two of the group are Dutch. Their ship, Arctic Sunrise, was also sailing under the Dutch flag. The ship and crew were seized in September after protesting at Gazprom drilling in the Arctic ocean. They were released from jail ahead of their trial last month.