ArmA 3 devs’ imprisonment gets attention from Czech president

In case you haven’t been following the story, two of the developers of ArmA 3, Czechs Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar, are sitting in a Greek prison charged with espionage.

The charge comes from what the developers claim to be holiday footage, taken while the pair was on holiday on the very Greek island that ArmA 3 is set on. According to the Greeks, there was footage in the videos of military bases, which has caused the conflict.

Now the Czech president has reached out to Greek president Karolos Papoulias to look at the case.

“I would like to address a matter of two Czech citizens who were arrested in Greece and charged with espionage,” Klaus wrote. “This case is very sensitive to the Czech public and also to me as President of the Republic. The fate of our citizens anywhere in the world matters to us.

“I have no doubt that the democratic Greek authorities – police, prosecutors and the courts – will consider this unfortunate matter impartially and independently. Even I do not in any way want to interfere with their work.

“I want to ask you, Mr. President, to follow this unfortunate affair with special attention considering the excellent relations between our nations so this does not throw unnecessary shade onto our relationship.

“Once again, I want to assure you that I have the utmost certainty that our accused citizens will be given all the rights in the search for justice by the Greek authorities.”

The pair have been denied bail and are currently awaiting trial, and have reportedly begun to lose hope.