Day Z Creator Rallies Internet to Save Bohemia "Spies"

[NvrPhazed]

rockets doesnt know what hes talking about -_- "i was going to go to greece but now i wont" (paraphrased) as if an entire country cares? and he seems to think the internet can save anyone if the entire internet said release them they wont listen because its a military espionage issue not a domestic/social one

You are telling me that if two of your friends were arrested for spying, charges you believe that are false, you would still go there for your vacation? It's not a pr thing its called standing by your friends.

dude rocket probably didnt even know them lol and its a country not a bloody company, ive been to greece loads every island is different and athens is completely different so if hes just not going there for that then hes being immature

'Hall is incensed not simply because Buchta and Pezlar are colleagues but because they are personal friends, who worked on Day Z with Hall.' -Article

Capcha: This is not fake

Hook, line, and sinker. Thank you for playing read the article better next time, (and I would back up my friends like that and you should too)

from what rocket said no ones worked on dayz but him only a few people have made minor additions to dayz which is a piss poor mod anyway imo because the zombies glitching is unbelievable and should be ironed out in alpha not beta and whats the point in adding a rifle that whenever you fire it u escalate the shit situation your in about 20 times over in about a year i doubt dayz will be "all that" when the war z or properly made similar games come out but thts my opinion

lol changing the subject much. These could of been some of the helpers that made some additions, and it says their relationship is personal as well as professional. I have never played dayz and I never mentioned the game's mechanics once. Just admit you forgot to read the article.

 

[SnowBurst]

rockets doesnt know what hes talking about -_- "i was going to go to greece but now i wont" (paraphrased) as if an entire country cares? and he seems to think the internet can save anyone if the entire internet said release them they wont listen because its a military espionage issue not a domestic/social one

You are telling me that if two of your friends were arrested for spying, charges you believe that are false, you would still go there for your vacation? It's not a pr thing its called standing by your friends.

dude rocket probably didnt even know them lol and its a country not a bloody company, ive been to greece loads every island is different and athens is completely different so if hes just not going there for that then hes being immature

what part of

not simply because Buchta and Pezlar are colleagues but because they are personal friends, who worked on Day Z with Hall.

did you not understand?

OT: This is all just Greece's way to say "we don't like the chance that someone might be playing war on our island in a virtual game world, what if the turks use this as a training tool to invade us?" and then arrest the 2 guys simply because they can and will show Bohemia the big middle finger.
FFS, Turkey ain't gonna invade Lemnos in the next 10 years, and if they so surely want to, satellite intel is probably better than trying to use inaccurate data from a futuristic war simulator. The Czech government didn't go all apeshit because Chernarus was modeled after a region in the Czech republic.

and what dont you get about rocket saying only a few people have worked on dayz other then him and that bohemia just let him use the facilities and some occasional time with devs... hes said it in interviews -_-

 

[SnowBurst]

rockets doesnt know what hes talking about -_- "i was going to go to greece but now i wont" (paraphrased) as if an entire country cares? and he seems to think the internet can save anyone if the entire internet said release them they wont listen because its a military espionage issue not a domestic/social one

You are telling me that if two of your friends were arrested for spying, charges you believe that are false, you would still go there for your vacation? It's not a pr thing its called standing by your friends.

dude rocket probably didnt even know them lol and its a country not a bloody company, ive been to greece loads every island is different and athens is completely different so if hes just not going there for that then hes being immature

'Hall is incensed not simply because Buchta and Pezlar are colleagues but because they are personal friends, who worked on Day Z with Hall.' -Article

Capcha: This is not fake

Hook, line, and sinker. Thank you for playing read the article better next time, (and I would back up my friends like that and you should too)

from what rocket said no ones worked on dayz but him only a few people have made minor additions to dayz which is a piss poor mod anyway imo because the zombies glitching is unbelievable and should be ironed out in alpha not beta and whats the point in adding a rifle that whenever you fire it u escalate the shit situation your in about 20 times over in about a year i doubt dayz will be "all that" when the war z or properly made similar games come out but thts my opinion

lol changing the subject much. These could of been some of the helpers that made some additions, and it says their relationship is personal as well as professional. I have never played dayz and I never mentioned the game's mechanics once. Just admit you forgot to read the article.

still immature to cancel a holiday just cuz some dumb asses took pictures of military bases your not aloud to take pictures whether its on view or not its still a military base n i doubt greece would kick off about something that anyone could see

 

[Daverson]

So, here's the details of the "case", because everyone seems to be somewhat confused about them:
1. The devs weren't arrested at any kind of military facility or by MPs. They were arrested by police outside their hotel (initially Greek authorities claimed they were arrested in a restricted area, though redacted this claim when eyewitnesses to the arrest came forth)
2. The devs weren't performing any kind of research for their game while on the island. While BIS had previously asked permission for an official visit to a Greek facility (I don't know the details surrounding this), which was denied.
3. The "espionage" footage consists of a video, in which a military hanger can be seen in the distance. (Other tourists have taken much more sensitive footage - it's easy enough to find on youtube. Yet no other arrests of this nature have been made)

It's been known for some time that the mayor of Limnos hasn't been too pleased with their island being featured in ArmA.3, this whole thing reeks of a power trip...

Anyone who hasn't yet, should visit this site: http://www.helpivanmartin.org/

(I think Greece should be afraid of Turkey playing economic video games rather than military ones, anyhow!)

 

[Korihor]

They were told by the police to not go on to thebase.

They looked for trouble and trouble is what they got. Sorry but even Game devs have to obey the law.. you can not simply take pictures of a military installation and think its "a-okay"

There are no restricted military bases on Limnos at all, so how can what you typed be true?

Don't bother being predictable and quoting the civilian airport or practising grounds for conscripts on me. I typed "restricted", because any non-restricted area can be definition not be spied upon since it's open to the public and subject to free speech, entry and photography.

Anyway, ontopic: e-mailed several liberal MPs here who are big on campaigning for rights about it, including two in the EU parliament. Hopefully they can approach figures in the Greek government and make clear that this is ridiculous, and the political prisoners may be freed.

Because every single news article I've seen on it has said that the police told them to not go onto the base. And thus why Greece arrested them. Do be a good chap and actually fact check things before jumping down Karadalis and myself throats. Kthnxbye.

Specifically:

Don't bother being predictable and quoting the civilian airport or practising grounds for conscripts on me. I typed "restricted", because any non-restricted area can be definition not be spied upon since it's open to the public and subject to free speech, entry and photography.

I'm not actually sure about how free speech works in Greece (if at all), but that's flawed thinking even by the liberally free speech laws of the US.

For instance, if a crime occurs in a park, and the police cordon off the park, and I enter the park despite being told not too, I will be arrested for entering a restricted area, even though the area is, typically, non-restricted.

Beyond that, you mention a civilian airport and every airport has restricted areas that you will be arrested for entering, especially if an official is standing there saying, "Turn back now."

Further, while this isn't the case here (or, at least, does not appear to be the case), the charge of "espionage" doesn't require you to do anything that would be illegal if one were, say, a citizen. If you're photographing a military base and are in fact a spy, it doesn't matter if you're doing it from a public location or not (though, typically, the police should have more evidence than "he was taking a picture in a public location").

Anyway, we've essentially got into an international case of hearsay at this point. "They entered a restricted area despite warnings," "That charge is bogus," yadda yadda yadda. So, unless you are:

1. One of the guys arrested

B. One of the arresting officers

3. A witness to their arrest

...you don't actually know anything about whether or not they were doing anything legitimately illegal at the time of their arrest, you simply believe one side or the other more because of your prejudices.

Personally, cops typically aren't out looking for people to arrest on bogus charges in order to create an international incident (way too much paperwork), and any conspiracy hypothesis involving Greek officials pressuring cops to arrest them on bogus charges is inherently ridiculous, so until more evidence comes to light, I'm with the cops.

I have seen corrupt cops before and they have a policy of shooting first and asking questions later.
I had a cop threaten to bash my skull in when I had done nothing illegal or wrong.
Anyway Greece is in dire financial condition because of decades dishonest politicians.
You do not think for a second one of those politicians could have got an officer to make up bogus charges.
Have Netflix?
Watch American Violet.
It is about a corrupt politician who gets the police to make charges against a single mother who is innocent.
It is a true story.
The ACLU actually got involved.

 

[disgruntledgamer]

Sounds like they were doing something they shouldn't have. Why should they get a pass when no one else would have? They're probably getting better treatment in Greece than what they would have if they pulled this in the US as non-citizens.

 

[Azuaron]

~~~snip~~~

I have seen corrupt cops before and they have a policy of shooting first and asking questions later.
I had a cop threaten to bash my skull in when I had done nothing illegal or wrong.

Anecdotes!

Anyway Greece is in dire financial condition because of decades dishonest politicians.
You do not think for a second one of those politicians could have got an officer to make up bogus charges.
Have Netflix?
Watch American Violet.
It is about a corrupt politician who gets the police to make charges against a single mother who is innocent.
It is a true story.
The ACLU actually got involved.

I think you misunderstood me. I did not mean to say that it would be ridiculous for a Greek official to get these guys arrested because the Greek officials are all honest. I meant that the idea itself was ridiculous given the effort (and papertrail) involved in doing it.

To wit: I was in Europe a couple years ago, and since the formation of the EU they don't care too much about passports if you're traveling within the EU. So I flew into Germany from the States, got my passport stamped, then flew into Switzerland and they just assumed that everyone on the flight from Germany was supposed to be there. I have a German stamp for entering the EU and a Swiss stamp for leaving, but no stamp for going between them. So, it's probable that they didn't even need to have their passports checked getting into Greece.

Even if they had (maybe Greece is stricter), it's not like your passport says for whom you work. So, unless Lemnos is tracking every Czech citizen who walks into the country, arresting them as soon as they do something that could be loosely construed as illegal, and taking them into a small room and yelling, "ARE YOU A DEVELOPER FOR ARMA III?" there's no way for the Greece officials to know these specific guys work for Bohemia Interactive until after they arrest them. Unless some Czech citizens step forward and say, "You know, they arrested me on bogus charges too, but all they cared about was some stupid videogame," responsibility for their initial arrest is firmly in the hands of the cops.

Of course, given the Lemnos officials' opposition to having Lemnos in Arma III, the officials are probably going to try and throw the book at these guys, but this isn't some kind of premeditated, "Catch the devs while they're on vacation" stunt so much as an opportune moment to read the law very strictly.

As for the cops, like I mentioned earlier, cops don't like paperwork. Sure, corrupt cops exist, but corrupt cops are careful to not attract attention to themselves because they don't want to get in trouble (a corrupt cop is much more likely to ignore minor infractions than an honest cop). And mean cops exist, but they typically get placed in a position where they don't have to interact with the general public much (SWAT-like task forces, desk duty, etc.) because their bosses don't like bad press.

But cops are people too (if that weren't obvious), and most cops are just trying to do their job and not get killed. Almost no cops have the idea (and then act on that idea), "You know what would be funny? If we arrest those foreigners for no reason, and get them charged with espionage." Hassle the foreigners? Maybe. Arrest and create an international incident? Hell no. Even if the Czechs are actually spies, these cops are screwed career-wise. No one wants to promote, elect, or even be associated with "the cops who created an international incident," even if the incident were justified.

 

[NvrPhazed]

snip

We don't know what they exactly did because the guy above me says the BBC reported that these people were there on vacation and not on company time. Also, if my friend is in a different country's prison and says the charges are fraudulent then I am going to back him up and not support the country that is keeping him there(you can say it's just the island but the island is part of a nation not by itself and the whole country should be scrutinized accordingly since the government is obviously not coming out to condemn the actions this island province did).

 

[bimon_1234567]

[...]
No word yet from Greek officialdom, but when Arma 3 cropped up on its radar last year [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113323-Greek-Island-Angry-at-Portrayal-in-Videogames], Lemnos government figures expressed concern that their island home was being used as an Arma 3 battleground. "We reserve our legal rights to defend our island's reputation," said Mayor Hatzidiamantis at the time.
[...]

Man, I would be totally stoked if someone were to use my island community as a basis for a virtual battlefield in an ArmA game.

Maybe BI should offer the politicians in charge to create some flag-waving, ass-kicking and fist-pumping Greek Armed Forces DLC in exchange for letting the guys off the hook.

 

[SnowBurst]

Sounds like they were doing something they shouldn't have. Why should they get a pass when no one else would have? They're probably getting better treatment in Greece than what they would have if they pulled this in the US as non-citizens.

It's remarkable that you just assume they did something wrong without having the slighest indication of that.

In reality, there don't seem to be any restricted military zones on Limnos, at all, whatsoever. Therefore entering a restricted zone, let alone spying, are impossible to do by definition. These charges are like the Greek 'authorities' accuse those two of the murder of a perfectly healthy living person who standing right next to them at the moment the accusations are made.

When cops tell you to not enter something and you enter it it is trespassing.

No. The police doesn't have veto rights on travelling, and can not close a zone simply by saying it's restricted. Restricting a zone typically consists of creating the legal arrangements, putting up fences and signs, and only then enforcing it.

And like I've pointed out before There are no restricted military bases on Limnos at all

And FYI all military bases even the most willing to let people visit have some parts that are restricted. Hell there is an air force base near my house. They allow people onto the base for tours. But I guarantee you if you go where they MPs tell you not to your gonna have your ass arrested.

Not if they didn't put up a fence, sign or any other indication of a restricted zone. Because in that case it's not a restricted zone.

In that case the military can only blame themselves because they failed to restrict acces to something they thought should be restricted.

still immature to cancel a holiday just cuz some dumb asses took pictures of military bases your not aloud to take pictures whether its on view or not its still a military base n i doubt greece would kick off about something that anyone could see

Wrong. Taking pictures is legal in Greece. Including taking pictures of military bases.

What isn't legal is entering a restricted zone and then taking pictures. But there are no restricted military zones on Limnos, so they can't possible have entered one.

yes because youve so been there and so seen the entire area and so noticed no bases...

 

[teebeeohh]

I love it when countries get all offended by fictional wars potentially fought in them. I am German and I never got upset whenever games depicted wars loosely based on WW2 in my country.

 

[BoogieManFL]

Because every single news article I've seen on it has said that the police told them to not go onto the base. And thus why Greece arrested them. Do be a good chap and actually fact check things before jumping down Karadalis and myself throats. Kthnxbye.

There are no restricted military bases on Limnos at all.

So how can the victims have entered one?

When cops tell you to not enter something and you enter it it is trespassing. So obviously they entered a restricted something. And as the Greeks are calling it a military base I'll go with what they are saying and say it was. Now if you have some magic form of proof that the Greeks are lying and there is no military base @ all on Limnos then by all means post it. Until then please stop your baseless accusations and trolling.

And FYI all military bases even the most willing to let people visit have some parts that are restricted. Hell there is an air force base near my house. They allow people onto the base for tours. But I guarantee you if you go where they MPs tell you not to your gonna have your ass arrested. The same obviously applies here @ the least. @ worst they entered a base without permission to take pictures.
Either way they broke the law and as this is the 2nd offense in 2 years involving employees from Bohemia on Limnos Greece needs to be a bit more harsh with its punishments to get this to stop.

I would have liked your post better if you didn't repeatedly abbreviate a TWO LETTER WORD.

Other than me finding that dumb, let's explore this. Assuming you have a typical keyboard, to type "at" you would presumably press "a" with your pinky, and "t" with your index finger. No matter how you do it, two keystrokes. To type "@" again, you need to press shift, probably with your pink if your typing skills are decent, and hit the "2" key with your middle finger. Again, two keystrokes.

All it does is make your posts look silly. It doesn't really save you time or effort and it really comes down to you abbreviating a two letter word.