Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar, both employed at Prague studio Bohemia Interactive, have sent a handwritten letter of thanks to those who have supported them since their arrest in Greece several months ago.
While touring Greece, the pair were arrested and charged with espionage, with state officials claiming they had taken pictures of a military compound. Ivan and Martin are currently trying to clear their names, as if found guilty, they face up to twenty years in prison.
Their letter reads:
“Dear Friends,
We would like to thank you for the ongoing support of our case. After tiring two months, it is important for us to hear (well, read) words of encouragement and to learn that we are not forgotten. We are treated well, but we feel we should rather be with our families than here.
Your effort makes it easier to handle: We enjoy the postcards, community news, pictures and puzzles which are being regularly send by this website’s magnificent staff.
It seems it will take some time before we could return home and there is certainly much to overcome. We do our best to stay optimistic and use this time well : we read we walk, we chat and discuss and martin even does some pt [sic]. We’ve already walked hundred of kilometres, read thousands of pages, but our thoughts are always with our families, friends and people who help us in any way.
We should also thank everyone who joined the petition! 14.000 signatures is truly amazing number, which makes us hope for the best regardless of the hardships.
With best regards from windy Greece,
Ivan & Martin”
Jan Kunt, a developer at Bohemia Interactive, has mentioned previous run-ins with the mayor of Lemnos, Antonis Hatzidiamantis, saying, “In the past the mayor was vocal about us using maps and how it is strategically problematic because Greece has NATO’s second-largest army [Turkey’s] next door to them.”
But Kunt claims that the maps in question are publicly available information: “You can buy it yourselves. The Turkish army can buy it. It’s not military-grade intel. It’s really nothing more than Google Maps.”
Colleagues of Ivan and Martin at Bohemia Interactive have established a dedicated website allowing people to send messages of support, which can be found at helpivanmartin.org
[Via CVG]