According to reports out of Greece, two Czech citizens have been arrested for “spying”. They were caught with photos and video of a military installation and arrested in the Greek island of Lemnos and are supposedly claiming to be video game developers for Bohemia Interactive.
Reports state that Greek authorities charged the two with espionage; however, the developers were apparently collecting reference material for ArmA III, an upcoming military game that is set on a Greek Island.
Bohemia Interactive boss Marek Spanel confirmed that the story is true, adding that he preferred that the topic not be discussed on the studio’s forums “at least until we know more specific details about the case…”
The two developers, aged 28 and 33, now face up to 20 years in prison.
Bohemia Interactive issued a statement that these developers were in Greece on vacation and “visited the island with the sole purpose of experiencing the island’s beautiful surroundings.” Here’s the full quote:
“Since its establishment in 1999, Bohemia Interactive has created games based only upon publicly available information,” the statement continues. “We always respect the law and we’ve never instructed anybody to violate the laws of any country. The same is true for Arma 3. Currently, all our effort goes towards supporting the guys over there, as well as their friends and families affected by this difficult situation. We sincerely hope that this is an unfortunate misunderstanding of their passion as artists and creators of virtual worlds.”
Κατηγορούμενοι για κατασκοπεία δύο Τσέχοι που συνελήφθησαν στη Λήμνο [In.gr]
Two BI employees arrested in Lemnos… [BI]
[Report: Bohemia Interactive employees arrested for spying [Edge]
Bohemia Interactive devs arrested for “spying” [PCGamer]
Originally published on Kotaku Australia.