Imprisoned Arma 3 Devs Express Optimism in New Letter

[Andy Chalk]

Imprisoned Arma 3 Devs Express Optimism in New Letter

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A handwritten note from imprisoned developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar has made its way out of the gulag.

Okay, maybe "gulag" is a bit strong, but nearly three months in a Greek prison on charges of espionage is nobody's vacation. Even so, Buchta and Pezlar sound remarkably upbeat in a letter written on November 22 and posted today on their support website, helpivanmartin.org.

"After two tiring months, it is important for us to hear ( well, read) words of encouragement and to learn that we are not forgotten," the duo wrote. "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 [helpivanmartin.org's] magnificent staff."

"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. We've already walked hundred of kilometers, read thousands of pages, but our thoughts are always with our families, friends and people who help us in any way," the letter continues. "We should also thank to everyone who joined the petition! 14,000 signatures is truly amazing number, which makes us hope for the best regardless of the hardships."

The site also posted a Czech news station's coverage of a protest in Prague in support of the pair, which attracted roughly 150 demonstrators. (Translation via subtitles.) Protest organizers presented a petition calling for their release to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Greek Embassy, but despite that and high-level diplomatic action including a letter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120757-Czech-President-Issues-Appeal-For-Arma-3-Devs] from the President of the Czech Republic to his counterpart in Greece, the report says their release "is not in sight."

The letter can be read in full below.

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Source: HelpIvanMartin.org [http://www.helpivanmartin.org/]


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[Formica Archonis]

Okay, maybe "gulag" is a bit strong

Just a bit. Shoulda gone with "concentration camp".

 

[major_chaos]

inb4 Albino Boo

OT: I'm glad to see that this isn't quickly fading from people's attention, these guys need all the emotional support they can get.

 

[Saulkar]

inb4 Albino Boo

I support that statement. I cannot fathom the person actually taking their(there is a second one just as adamant about Greece taking the right stance) consistently disproven stance seriously. Seems more like an attention grab then anything else.

OT: I seriously hope this comes back to bite Greece in the ass. A few years ago before the financial problems that plagued the nation I would have loved to have gone to Greece for a vacation but in lieu of the corruption that now plagues the nation I feel no sympathy for the nation, only the people who suffer in it.

 

[Necrofudge]

I really hope that this sort of thing is fixed soon. I know it won't be, especially considering the condition of Greece right now and their apparent lack of a care about wrongful imprisonment, but I can hope.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Don't the greeks have bigger things to worry about right now? Christ almighty, maybe Germany should just take over running their country for them too.

 

[Jandau]

I'm sorry, but I can't take this note seriously. After repeated reports regarding the terrible conditions in the Greek prison they are in, suddenly a note shows up stating (multiple times, for no apparent reason I might add) how it's not so bad, how they are treated well and everything is fine and dandy. This note also happens to show up just after the shitstorm regarding the whole case starts to heat up and the Greek government is getting called out left and right on the issue.

Maybe I'm being too cynical, but this seems to me less of a "Hey, we're OK, everything is fine" note and more of a "You two dirty spies are going to write this note or we'll waterboard you some more, yes?" note...

 

[Strazdas]

The darker insides of letters whole having completely blank background indicates this was played by a quote non-professional photoshopper (i mean hey, if your going to remove background dust at least be consistent, it looks bad now). while there is no problem with removing background scanning dust, which scanners even do automatically but manual is usually way better when you know how to, this does give precedent of "What else was shopped-out".

 

[Formica Archonis]

Don't the greeks have bigger things to worry about right now? Christ almighty, maybe Germany should just take over running their country for them too.

The hell of it is that it was this kind of fiasco that lead to the rise of the Nazi party LAST time too. The economy being a wreck and a feeling of being cheated by foreign powers were part of why Hitler and Mussolini got in and weren't voted out/shot.

I'm not saying we've got WW3 or another Hitler on our hands, but I'm afraid that Greece has a lot father to fall and will drag some other nations down with it before things start righting again. I just hope the damage doesn't ruin what little economic recovery we've made and chuck us ALL into a depression.

 

[TheScottishFella]

I'm sorry, but I can't take this note seriously. After repeated reports regarding the terrible conditions in the Greek prison they are in, suddenly a note shows up stating (multiple times, for no apparent reason I might add) how it's not so bad, how they are treated well and everything is fine and dandy. This note also happens to show up just after the shitstorm regarding the whole case starts to heat up and the Greek government is getting called out left and right on the issue.

Maybe I'm being too cynical, but this seems to me less of a "Hey, we're OK, everything is fine" note and more of a "You two dirty spies are going to write this note or we'll waterboard you some more, yes?" note...

I have to agree, the timing is more than coincidental, you know what Greece? You want this shit storm to end, then just fucking release them already.