1 Like @FreedomPrime If you plan on taking pictures of military compounds, you will be arrested no matter the country.
Jailed Arma devs denied bail - Report
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Bohemia Interactive developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar also have appeal tossed; remain in Greek jail after 70 days.
Jailed Arma developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar have been in a Greek jail for 70 days now, and they will not be released anytime soon. Eurogamer has translated a Rozhlas report, which states Buchta and Pezlar have been denied bail. Additionally, the duo's appeal over their espionage charges has been tossed out and their holding place has reportedly left much to be desired.
"They're in a cell with over 25 people; they sleep on the ground," Ivan Buchta's father Miloslav Buchta told the site.
"They have food twice a day. Our boys no longer tell us on the phone that it's alright, that they're handling it," one of their mothers' added. "After the court's decision we only hear from them something that no parent ever wants to hear: Mom, dad, please save us."
Buchta and Pezlar face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
A representative with Arma studio Bohemia Interactive told GameSpot earlier this week that due to ongoing political strife in Greece, Buchta and Pezlar are no closer to release.
Buchta and Pezlar were arrested on the Greek island of Lemnos in September for spying on a military compound. According to Greek reports , the pair were in possession of videos and photos of military compounds in Lemnos at the time of their arrest. The Greek island is the main location for Bohemia Interactive's upcoming shooter Arma III, with the two reportedly claiming that they were collecting reference material for the game.
Since their arrest, Bohemia Interactive has insisted that Buchta and Pezlar were on holiday, and did not enter any military areas or shoot any footage of military objects for use in Arma III. A support site for the pair has been established by the community.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
597 comments
1 Like 
1 Like This is ridiculous. I guess Il never take a trip to greece with my family, might go to prison for taking pictures of me and my family.
Talking about passion, tsk but it makes sense! what more can you get from getting references from an actual military ground to be used as design assets for a game like Arma. I wish them the best of luck with their legal case and kudos for their efforts for stepping beyond their boundaries to get references for the game. Be strong Ivan & Martin.
well it seems to me the company should have gotten clearance for this kind of thing and if they couldn't then they should have left it alone i don't know the exact situation so it's hard to know who's side to support.
Damn....sucks to be them. But that goes to show how "no joke" Greece's legal system is. This is truly the worst possible scenario they could've gotten themselves into. And considering notorious rep Greece's legal system has, especially towards foreigners, these turn of events don't even surprise me.
1 Like Habeas Corpus is a basic right in any civilized legal system. This is arbiitrary action on the part of the Greek government. I also find it odd that people are saying the law imposes a 20 year jail time penalty for this particular action and there is no way around it. Are you saying courts have no discretion to take mitigating circumstances into account in indictment and sentencing? I detect a strong sense of defensiveness and misplaced pride in past achievements.
@ggregd There is no way around letting them go without further investigation NOT without putting them in jail for 20 years. That will happen only in the extreme case of finding evidence that they were really spies. BUT even if they were not spies they have already broke the law, so they will face the consequences. Like paying a fine and go home.
2 Like maybe they got themselfes arrested on purpose to continue getting intel for the game , expect realistic prison levels in arma3
You are funny. I'm an European and I have been 2 times to Greece and 3 times to Spain.
As a tourist, in Greece, I couldn't even buy a bottle of water between 12:00 and 17:00 because EVERYTHING CLOSED.
Gotta keep the poor Greeks rested. GFTO!
2 Like @leeveeu You know half the truth and that is what the media wants you to know (no offence). I know tax evasion is at its best but only for those who can bribe them selves out of it and for those with friends in high places ofc (problem is corruption again and only stands for the minority). I ve heard the Porsche Cayenne thing from the news. Ask your self who owns those cars and who are the people that have villas in that town. It will ether be politicians or the extremely high class that fund their campaigns. (problem is again corruption and only stands for a small minority). You ll also see it?s the same people that avoid taxation. If I don?t pay my taxes the government will have no trouble confiscate everything I own and that is not expensive cars or villas. Regarding the 13 & 14 salary If I were you I would try to find out why those need be. It is a trick to have the economy running. We were given in 1 extra month payment in Christmas and 2 halves in Easter and Summer vacation. The reason is that people got those is that they had close to nothing to spend rest of the year and waited for those periods and the local economy with them as well. Normally I don?t post personal information in public sites but I will make an exception just to show how miss-informed you and most are. I work as a manager in average size company and I used to get the extremely high (being sarcastic) amount of 1050 EUR & now its even less than that. My 2 room flat rent costs 470 EUR and my gas to & from work is around 180 EUR. That leaves me with 400 to feed my self and pay the bills. And I am above the average salary, here most people get just 350 to 700 EUR if they even have a job still. And all that while most products cost the same if not more compared to Germany & France for instance. Let me give you 2 extreme examples of a cup of coffee that costs 4 to 5 EUR and the Gas example of 1,75 EUR per litr. So the 13 & 14 salary is an additional breadcrumb that falls of the table to spend during holidays & vacations to barely keep the local economy running. (and THAT IS the majority case). I may sound lefty but I am not I know how all Greek parties are corrupted to the bone & bought and I mean all regardless where they stand I thus I have never voted for one in my life. Maybe the media or the tourist perspective give a false impression but this is not the case. I cant even describe how deep the corruption I speak of really goes. I thank rest of the Europeans of that have to bail us out every single time but really DON?T. Your money are not going to help & one way or an other it will eventually end up as more expensive Cars or Villas that just a few own. Realy sorry for going so much of topic from everyone. I will not post any more.
@CYB3Rzen @leeveeu In Greece, my dear confused poster, not only are people lazy, but tax evasion is at its very best. Do you know there is a town in Greece that has more Porsche Cayenne cars per capita than New York? And the 13th and 14th salaries, what about those? And I stand by my statement, nothing moves in Greece in summer after lunch and into the afternoon. Don't blame it on corruption, it's everywhere. The corruption made a lot of Greeks live comfortably - this is the real problem, whether you like it or not!
1 Like @leeveeu I think you are a bit confused. I found something similar to your description in wikipedia called Siesta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siesta it mentions Spain, Hispanic Americans & philipines. It also has a Greek example in small Island for dentists, that I was not aware of. I dont know if its common practice in spain but it certainly is not a common practice for Greeks. At least I ve never heard of it before and my working hours have always been 9 to 5 + overtime when needed by the companies I had to work for. Before the crysis when there were still jobs around in Greece most people had to work 2 jobs or even 3 to make a living (my self included).Now the majority is unemployed ofc. Greece had never been a paradise for lazy people. Even if we've dreamed for it we had never the luxury to be lazy in general (at least the majority).The problem with Greece was never the laziness of its people but the corruption of the political scene and the 2 major parties who have destroyed this country and still to this day do so. I suggest you get your facts straight before spreading more racist, Xenofobic (call it what ever you like) comments.
@leeveeu Nah, I am too lazy to keep replying to you! Between you and me, if I can buy whatever I like between 12:00-17:00 and you cannot, maybe I am not so ignorant after all!
Anyway, no problem, I was just making a joke.Sorry
3 Like I served in Greek islands & I can tell you that the "No Photos Allowed" signs start to appear a Km radius to any military facility. The devs knew what they were doing and the risks of getting arrested. Hoever I totaly blame Arma for not backing them up, cause I am not baying the vacation story even for a min. Sadly it seems their game is much more important than their employees. I am sure if Arma had properly asked for permission they would have been taken to some non classified locations to get some decent material, it might have taken them a few months till the military have processed their request yes but their devs wouldnt have to face trial over it. I think the court would release them eventually but deny them future entrance to the country.
1 Like When you have a family and a kid that age, WHY would you do something that reckless? You are at a point in life where other people depend on you. I don't have kids (only in my early-mid twenties) but I could imagine how terrible it would be to miss 20 years of my kid's life. That's like not seeing my kid til he was my age!!!
1 Like Ah the power of the press...How easy it is to form a public opinion!Just put 2 pictures of them in happy moments and throw in a couple of twisted facts and the operation is a success.
I hope they rot in jail for 20 years.Do not underestimate the laws in the country that basically invented laws.
2 Like Everyone has got this wrong, they secretly want to be there. It's extended super secret undercover investigation which will hopefully end with Bohemia learning how to do interiors for once.
Is anyone really going to have a problem if they are released with all the offending material confiscated? Being kept in a jail for this is ludicrous. Greece has enough problems as it is, why would they want this press?
Wow, it's impossible to imagine what these developers and their families must be going through. My heart really goes out to them. But the thing is, what they were doing is not a game. I know that people love playing first person shooters and all, but when it comes to war, it is no game. Thousands of people are dying each day in this world due to military conflicts, wives are losing husbands, children are growing up missing a parent. The greatest games based on wars aren't even based on real wars, Halo, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. It's really a shame what developers have to go through to make money simply because it's what popular at the moment.
ARMA Is a niche realistic military simulator which some military units use for virtual training exercises. It is not "because it's what popular at the moment" they have been making realistic war simulators for years. ARMA2(2009), ARMA(2006), Operation Flashpoint (2001)
2 Like @NoelXYeul you make it sound like they did it for the money
they just wanted to make an accuruate game. plus they wouldnt be making a combat sim if they wanted the most money
This comment has been deleted
seriously though - this was incredibly stupid behavior and they should have at least had a sense thy could be in jeopardy. i really hope they are released soon with some sort of parol or whatever or even moved to a more accomodating detention. this is the kind of shit that gives you nightmares man!
this is absolutely aweful. my heart goes out to these two and their families. It is an unfortunate and foolish thing they did. Even if the Greek gvmt knows they are innocent, their hands are tied. they release them, next thing you know spies will be working for game developers as a cover. They have to discourage this angle even if it costs the lives of a couple fools. ugh awful
4 Like You just have to realise that this incident has nothing to do with Greece and greek people.Its about the law here.I believe the devs are in fault too.From there its the fault of the authorities that they remain in jail and not getting to court.Please stop the hate speech, it gets you nowhere.
People, seriously, civil up down there. We need to assume good faith in those developers, and it's most likely that they were simply capturing footage for the game, this is the kind of trouble those people go to to come up with the games you appreciate. You'd want to show more support ! This is an overreaction from the greek part more than anything else !
@wiidominance It was not an overreaction by what the Greek authorities stated that happened. I explained it in a previous answer.
1 Like @wiidominance lol why should we feel sorry for two people who should have had enough brains to know that if you take videos and pictures of a military compound without permission, you will be arrested. Same thing would happen had they done it in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan etc.
Sure we would have likely released them by now, but don't act like they are innocent. I give them NO support for the fact they were arrested, but I will show my support on them being released soon and hopefully growing some brains.
1 Like @BigAl519 @wiidominance Which country is the "we" who would likely have released them by now? Deffinitly not the USA. With espionage charges they would disappear for the next few years in a secret CIA detention camp and then get send to Guantanamo to be held for a decade without a trial. The scary bit is that the US even admtis to these practices.
Oh, and please always make a distinction between the people and governments. You can't be held accountable for something that's beyond you.
Conversation powered by Livefyre
Content you might like…
-
ARMA community rallies to help jailed Bohemia developers
Community-created site for Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar calls for action to free developers; users can sign an online petition and leave messages of support.
- Sep 18, 2012
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
Preowned games on Xbox One decided by publisher
Microsoft confirms that it won't charge any fees for any titles eligible for resale. Full Story
- Posted Jun 6, 2013 4:00 pm PT
-
Microsoft confirms required 24-hour check-in for Xbox One
Playing Xbox One games on somebody else's console will also require a check-in every hour. Full Story
- Posted Jun 6, 2013 3:41 pm PT
Featured Stories
-
PlayStation 4 will cost $399
Sony confirms a $399/€399/£349 price for the PlayStation 4 hardware, $100 cheaper than Microsoft's Xbox One. Full Story
- Posted Jun 10, 2013 11:19 pm PT
-
New Halo coming to Xbox One; runs at 60fps
Will be coming in 2014. Full Story
- Posted Jun 10, 2013 11:11 am PT
-
Del Toro calls BioShock Infinite a 'mindf*ck'
Pan's Labyrinth director praises Ken Levine and Irrational Games for latest BioShock, says he would consider large-scale Pacific Rim game "God willing." Full Story
- Posted Jun 13, 2013 8:53 am PT
-
Microsoft: Xbox One will be leading product people love and embrace
Xbox boss Don Mattrick believes concerns over connectivity are overblown, recommends Xbox 360 for those without an Internet connection. Full Story
- Posted Jun 11, 2013 5:52 pm PT
-
New Mirror's Edge is open-world
EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau describes new project as "open-world action adventure game." Full Story
- Posted Jun 12, 2013 10:45 am PT
Submit News
Related Game
Recent News
-
Microsoft changing Xbox One policies
Xbox maker does away with all used game restrictions and 24-hour online check-ins; region-locks also no longer in place.
