This is so lovely. Imprisoned Bohemia developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar returned home to a sea of Czech television cameras yesterday morning, which parted only to let them embrace their loved ones for the first time in four months.
News came via Greek prime minister Antonis Samara on Wednesday that the two men had been bailed after 128 days’ imprisonment on the Greek island of Lemnos. Buchta and Pelzar had previously been refused bail on two occasions.
Their case is still ongoing, and both men face up to 20 years in prison for the alleged photographing of Greek military installations. A Greek justice system strike means that there’s no current timeframe for their court appearances, however.
Both Buchta and Pelza hold key roles at Bohemia, and their absence meant Arma 3 was delayed last month.
“We’ve been in the process of implementing changes that will help us innovate as a studio under unexpected circumstances – facing problems we simply couldn’t have imagined,” said new project lead Joris-Jan van ‘t Land in a press release at the time.
“Although their plight has certainly affected us on a personal level, we continue working on the tasks identified as key to the release of Arma 3.”