Arrested Bohemia employees denied appeal, refused bail

Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar, the ArmA 3 developers who were arrested in Greece on charges of espionage, have been denied an appeal and refused bail.

Czech news site Rozhlas (translated by Eurogamer) reports the appeal verdict took weeks to be handed down due to a strike within the country’s legal system.

The pair must now face trial over the charges on a date yet to be scheduled. If convicted they face up to a 20-year prison sentence.

Our boys no longer tell us on the phone that it’s alright, that they’re handling it,” said a mother of one of the men. After the court’s decision we only hear from them something that no parent ever wants to hear: Mom, dad, please save us.”

Bohemia has been driving a campaign for its employee’s release since their arrest over 70 days ago. Conditions in the holding cell are less than optimal according to Buchta’s father.

They’re in a cell with over 25 people, they sleep on the ground,” he said. They have food twice a day.”

The families have taken the situation up with the Czech president and prime minister as they feel the foreign ministry has not provided enough help.

We cannot agree with the statement [that we’re not doing enough],” a foreign ministry spokesman stated. We are very intensely working on this matter from all possible angles.”