Plane-spotter spy charges dropped

Dutch planespotter Frank Mink arrives at a courthouse in Kalamata, Greece

ATHENS, Greece -- Spying charges against 14 British and Dutch plane-spotters held in Greece have been dropped.

Judges have charged the group instead with a misdemeanour offence of illegal information collection and ordered their release on bail.

"I am completely happy. It's what we were trying for," said defense lawyer Iannis Zacharias.

The new charge carries a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum of five, compared to the maximum 20 years they could have originally faced.

"I regard this as a victory," said Richard Howitt, a British Member of the European Parliament who has campaigned on behalf of the detainees. "I have no doubt that when it comes to trial the case will collapse."

A three-member panel of Greek judges ordered the release of the 14 on bail set at five million drachmas ($13,130) each on Wednesday, lawyer Yannis Nikiteas told Reuters.

"If we can come up with the money we might manage to get them released today," Nikiteas said.

The 12 people from Britain and two from The Netherlands have been held since November 8, when they were arrested for allegedly taking sensitive photographs and notes while attending an air force day at a military air base in Kalamata.

Despite appeals by the UK government for the plane-spotters to be freed, a Greek prosecutor recommended on Monday that the group should stand trial on charges of espionage, defence lawyer Iannis Zacharias said.

The 14 claim they did not violate the ban on photography at military air bases and were only engaged in their hobby of observing and taking notes about aircraft.

But Greek officials say the group was warned on three occasions before their arrest that photography was not allowed in military areas and that their activities were regarded as suspicious.

Straw raises issue

The case, which has highlighted the different European Union judicial systems as the bloc considers an EU-wide arrest warrant for certain crimes, has become a cause celebre in Britain.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw met his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, in Brussels this week and urged the country to resolve the issue.

Straw said he hoped the charges would at least be reduced from espionage, but admitted that the Greek government's hands were tied because of the separation of authority between the state and judiciary -- which also applies in Britain.

"Nothing would please me more than if they were released in the next few days, but I don't want to raise the hopes of people detained," Straw said after the talks, held on the sidelines of a European Union foreign ministers' meeting.

"We agreed that it is not possible for ministers to order the judiciary around."

It was Straw's fourth meeting on the issue, and Papandreou also discussed the fate of the planespotters with the Dutch foreign minister.