One of the better known, and more ridiculous, controversies within video games for the past several months was the arrest of games developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar in Greece. Sent to jail without trail during the summer of last year while vacationing on the isle of Lemnos, the developers of the game ARMA 3 and popular mod Day Z were accused of espionage after taking photos of the isle to use as a setting in their future title.
Kept in prison for four months in abysmal conditions, reportedly being forced to share a cell with over twenty other individuals the two were denied bail repeatedly and even jailed without trial.
Thankfully despite repeated denials the two have now been released on bail reportedly set at €5,000 each, or £4,153, after much protest over their treatment and the reasons behind their arrest. Furthermore they have been allowed to return to their home country of the Czech Republic. Unfortunately the two will as of yet still have to stand trial in Greek courts but as and when is yet unclear due to the current strike of the country's judges. None the less this is still a major step forwards and at the very least the two are not waiting in a jail cell to stand trial over these matters.
There is little else to report on this situation as of this time. You can keep track of further developments and new information at helpivanmartin.org/
a rotten nation with rotten beliefs
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