[updated:LAST EDITED ON 26-04-02 AT 05:20 PM (GMT)]KALAMATA, Greece — British politicians have expressed outrage after 14 British and Dutch plane spotters were convicted in Greece of spying and related charges.
Six Britons and two Dutchmen arrested near a Greek air base last year were sentenced to three years in jail by the court in the southern town of Kalamata.
Six more Britons received one-year sentences after being found guilty of aiding and abetting them.
The court said the sentences would be suspended if they appealed against the decision, and they would be allowed to return home.
All 14 had begun the appeals process and were expected to leave Greece on Saturday. Some of the defendants looked visibly shaken.
One of the accused, Mrs Lesley Coppin, who was found guilty of aiding and abetting told Britain’s Press Association she was “very, very angry” and vowed to fight the court’s decision.
Her husband Paul, who was found guilty of the more serious charge, told PA: “I’m disgusted with the whole legal system, it’s a shambles.”
Stephen Warren, son of Lesley Coppin, said: “I’m in complete shock and disbelief. I can’t understand how Greek authorities, having seen all of the evidence, can come to this conclusion.
“It’s insane that my mother, sitting in a van doing a crossword, can be convicted of espionage. They are a bunch of anoraks with a strange hobby but it’s not something they should be jailed for.”
‘Hard justice’
British politicians of all parties queued up to angrily lambast the verdicts.
Conservative MP Gerald Howarth, a pilot for 35 years, described the outcome as “unbelievable.”
“It just seems absolutely incredible and unbelievable that a Greek court should come to this decision,” Howarth told PA.
“It is a very popular occupation in Britain among people interested in aviation. I just cannot believe that the Greeks have taken this attitude towards them.”
Lord Hoyle, a former Labour government whip, said: “They may have been foolish in the first place, but this is very hard justice.
“Most people feel they should not have been punished in this way. I feel very sorry for them and their families. They don’t deserve this.”
Labour MEP Richard Howitt, who has campaigned on behalf of the plane spotters, condemned the verdicts.
“The Greeks had no evidence against them. I am desperately, desperately unhappy and sorry for this group of totally innocent people,” he told Sky News.
“The verdict bears no relation to what happened in the courtroom during the past three days. This case is all about Greek pride, Greek nationalism and nothing to do with 12 people and what they have and have not done.”
Baroness Sarah Ludford, the Liberal Democrat MEP for London, said: “I am truly astounded by the severity of the sentences passed.”
Greek prosecutor Panagiotis Poulios had earlier said evidence had clearly shown that the six Britons and two Dutch spotters from the group illegally collected sensitive military information.
“This poses a clear threat to national security,” he said. He said the other six Britons should be found guilty of collaborating in the crime.
“They knew this information was secret. They knew they gathered it illegally, and they knew that it could damage national security if it fell into the wrong hands,” Poulios said in his closing statement on Friday. “The use they intended for the data gathered is of no importance.”
Relations strained
The 14 were arrested last November for gathering information on fighter jets and military installations near the southern Greek town of Kalamata.
They told judges they were indulging an innocent hobby popular in Britain, after receiving an official invitation to attend an air display.
The group had denied violating any ban on photography at military installations. The case strained relations between EU members Britain and Greece.
Plane spotting is virtually unknown in Greece, which has a tradition of tight military controls because of long-standing territorial disputes with neighbouring Turkey.
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April 26, 2002 at 5:18 pm