If you've been following the story, you know that two Bohemia Interactive developers were arrested on charges of spying in Greece September 9th. They face up to 20 years on espionage charges for allegedly taking pictures and video of Greek military installations on the island of Lemnos. Pictures, supporters say, that every tourist takes.
Bohemia Interactive has since denied rumors that the developers were there to do research for ArmA 3. And now fellow developer and Day Z creator Dean "Rocket" Hall has pleaded for their release in a post on his personal tumblr titled "My friends are in prison".
"After more than two years of passionate work on Lemnos, the fictional counterpart and also a game tribute to the real place, they were really interested to see the real island of Lemnos. They were there as tourists, and are being charged simply because they were working on a video game. A game that portrays Greece as a battlefield for a fictional futuristic conflict.," Hall says. "There is no risk in this game, there is no evidence here that any espionage has been conducted or even that anyone’s safety is compromised. This is at best, ignorance about video games, at worst is an abuse of power."
Hall is urging the gaming community and any who would like to help to do any of the following:
1. Send a twitter message to the Prime Minister of Greece (@primeministergr) letting him know we want Ivan and Maxel returned to their families immediately. This is probably one of the most public and obvious things you can do to help. Social Media works.
2. Call, write, or visit your nearest Greek Embassy. Let them know what they have done is wrong, and that you want them released. Be civil, but be honest. We don’t stand for this in the part of the world I come from.
3. Spread the word, let everyone know. Please forward my post on, and these links, to anyone who might be able to help. For more information you can visit my friends website at http://www.helpivanmartin.org/
4. Let the local press on the island know what you think on their facebook page, and their twitter @LesvosNet. Read some of the comments on this article for an idea of what is going on. Let’s end it exactly where it all started in the first place!
If you wish to help, you can find Hall's full plea for help complete with relevant links here.
