Czech president appeals for ‘special attention' to jailed Arma 3 devs from Greek president

The president of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus, wrote to Greek president Karolos Papoulias to appeal for the latter's "special attention" to the case of two Arma 3 developers who have been jailed since September, Eurogamer reports.

In his letter, Klaus says that, although he does not wish to interfere with the Greek process of law, he implores the president to follow the case closely, lest the relationship between the two nations becomes strained.

According to the translation provided by Eurogamer.cz, Klaus wrote:

"I would like to address a matter of two Czech citizens who were arrested in Greece and charged with espionage. 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."

In September, Greek authorities arrested and charged Arma 3 developers Martin Pezlar and Ivan Buchta with espionage after they allegedly photographed Greek military installations. The developers, along with the CEO of Bohemia Interactive, Marek Spanel, have maintained that the pair was vacationing on the Greek island of Lemnos, which "inspired the virtual environments of Arma 3."

In mid-November, a Greek court denied the pair bail, though they will be afforded another appeal. They remain imprisoned awaiting trial.