"ATHENS (Reuters) - A three-member panel of Greek judges has ordered 14 British and Dutch plane spotters be freed on bail and said they should stand trial on lesser charges than spying, their lawyer said.

The 14 have been in custody for more than a month and are at the centre of an embarrassing diplomatic standoff between Britain and Greece. The bail was set at five million drachmas each [approx £9,100], the lawyer said on Wednesday.

"If we can come up with the money we might manage to get them released today," lawyer Yannis Nikiteas told Reuters from Kalamata, where the judges ruled.

The group was arrested for allegedly photographing a military airbase near the southern town of Kalamata and had been accused of spying. Nikiteas said the 14 now faced misdemeanour charges of "accessing national secrets".

No date was set for the trial."

>>the 14 now faced misdemeanour charges of "accessing national secrets

What, like the Greek's have a sh*t air defence? That you can get more information in Jane's Defence Weekly? Or Woman's Weekly for that matter...

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

Answers

Of course, we have always been the essence of reasonableness wrt the "Elgin" marbles.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

Thought the thread was about F****r being arrested for criminal damage on Tuesday (according to reports) Looks like he is fitting in with his new team mates well already:-)

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

Well, although they should never have been stolen from the Parthanon it's only in recent years that Athens has been able to make the city clean enough for them to return without undue harm from pollution. Besides, they had them for 2,000 years...150 in British hands is nothing in comparison.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

It does sound dodgy that one of them had been a paid guest of the turkish government only weeks before though.....maybe all is not as it sounds?

Damn unfair on the poor old woman who was sitting on the bus while they were getting the tour though....how unlucky...

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

The same argument as the Elgin Marbles dispute is used when the Lindisfarne Gospels are discussed. I don’t know the ins and outs of the argument but I would like to see the Gospels in the north east.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

At least they're in the same country.

Didn't know the Turks had a finger in the plane spotter's business. Ah, f**k 'em. Plane spotting should be an imprisonable offence anyways

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001