After 70 days awaiting trial, jailed ArmA 3 devs refused bail

Held for 70 days behind bars in a Greek cell, ArmA 3 developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar have now been denied an appeal against their charges of espionage.

The two men have been refused bail and now must be tried in front of a Greek court, Czech news site Rozhlas reports (thanks, Eurogamer.cz). The duo have been made to wait weeks longer than normal to hear their appeal verdict due to a strike affecting the Greek legal system.

Buchta and Pezlar are accused of spying on Greek military installations. They face up to 20 years in jail.

The military shooter ArmA 3 is set on the island where the pair were arrested. Developer Bohemia Interactive has claimed the pair were simply in the country on holiday.

The pair have previously spoken from captivity and said conditions left a lot to be desired. Matters have not improved.

“They're in a cell with over 25 people, they sleep on the ground," Miloslav Buchta, father of Ivan, said. "They have food twice a day."

“Our boys no longer tell us on the phone that it's alright, that they're handling it," one of their mothers' said. "After the court's decision we only hear from them something that no parent ever wants to hear: Mom, dad, please save us."

The families of the men are now escalating the matter to the Czech president and prime minister after claiming their country's foreign Ministry has not done enough to help.

“We cannot agree with the statement [that we're not doing enough]," a foreign ministry spokesman said. "We are very intensely working on this matter from all possible angles.”

An ongoing fan campaign has called for the pair's release.