14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of employees of the Czech video game developer Bohemia Interactive have been arrested in Greece. Authorities caught them taking pictures of a military base on the island of Lemnos and accused them of espionage.
Initial reports revealed that the two – aged 28 and 33 - were documenting the area for the upcoming Arma 3 game. The island of Lemnos will be one of the locations where the action takes place.
According to CVG, the company’s executive producer Jan Kunt claims that in the past, their employees took pictures of fields, dirt and other environmental elements. He claims that the maps they’re utilizing are taken from Google Maps and they’re freely available for anyone.
On the other hand, the island’s mayor seems to be displeased with the fact that Bohemia’s use of the maps may cause them problems. That's because the Turkish army – which resides next door – could also put them to good use.
Now, the two developers have been charged with claims of espionage, accusations that could land them in jail for the next 20 years, VG247 reports.
But, there’s a twist to the story. Ars Technica has obtained a statement from Bohemia Interactive representatives who say that the employees were actually visiting Lemnos as part of their vacation, allegedly wanting to “experience the island’s beautiful suroundings.”
Furthermore, the firm says that they have always utilized publicly available information to develop their games and they have never broken the law. Now, they hope that the misunderstanding will be resolved.
This is not the first time when Greek authorities seem to be over-zealous when it comes to potential spies. Back in 2001, they arrested and charged 12 British citizens who took pictures of an air show.
At the time, the misunderstanding wasn’t cleared up as everyone hoped. Instead, some of the alleged spies were sentenced to 3 years in prison.