The three Czech tourists who were detained and charged with espionage in Zambia have returned home, the Czech Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
Reuters reports that the three Czechs, who were arrested on October 12 after they were found taking pictures near military sites, could still be put on trial for an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
A Czech ministry spokesman declined to give any details on the Czechs’ return and said Prague had not received any information to suggest that the case was being dropped.
The ministry said in October that the three worked for a Dutch exhibition logistics company and had been visiting a friend in Zambia after a business trip to South Africa.
The pictures included one of a decommissioned military plane, along with “No Entry” signs outside another installation and the entrance to State House in the capital Lusaka.
In November Czech President Vaclav Klaus swrote a letter to President Michael Sata that was conveyed by a special Czech envoy, voicing his conviction that the three Czechs detained in Lusaka did not plan any crime.
Klaus wrote that accusations were levelled against the three as they photographed buildings and objects on public display, some of which accidentally found themselves in military and government buildings’ vicinity.
After a week in prison, the tourists were released on bail but they could not leave Zambia.
The title is misleading?I am a Zambian but live here in the Czech, according to the radio news here it suggests that the three Czechs they just run away without government clearance.
Shani kanshi uku latina ba mwisa???
Iyo kwena!!!
please can some one tell us the truth, even the Czech presido is involved, i guess i had ready somewhere where it was saying that Czech threatened to withdraw support to Zambia in someway if it does not let go the culprits
Well, I live in Czech and from watching the news I think it it rather strange how those three escaped. they refused to give any details about their escape. It seems as if the Czech government was involved. Very strange indeed as I dont think it is usual of the czech governent to be involved in such issues. Makes you actually wonder if the guys werent actually real spies. who knows…
I agree with Bushman, I live in the Czech as well. In listening to yesterday`s news, there was no mention of any Zambian government involvement in releasing the Czechs. The news suggested that the Czechs were rather taken out of Zambia secretly….One of them was interviewed and declined to mention anything regarding how they got out of Zambia……which raises some questions here.
It is good these people were released, but would have been great if they were released upon an announcement by some Zambian official
So what is the story?
Some countries are very protective of their citizens. I wonder wat would have happen to me if I was found taking photos at some place near a military facility in Prague.Â
Well, it’s easy to say – nothing… You can come to Prague Castle – the settlement of the Czech president and take pictures with it’s official guard… Like you can see here for example:Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJfcjN6vxbQ – you can enter the public places of the castle and take photos of everything. One of the “bad” photo has been taken just 200m from the doors of the presidential palace… Compare your fear with this video, look to the people what they take pictures…
Here you can take any photo from the street like this guys do… What’s secret is hidden to eyes of the normal people…Â
Well I can ensure you that if you would be taking picture outside of any military facility in Prague, no one would care. You are allowed to take pictures of everything in public here. Other thing is if you would do it inside the military area, but there you would be always informed that it it prohibited. Actually, you are welcome to try it, just visit Prague.
what is there to spy?airforce has all of three aircraft maybe one and a half are operational.Please focus on more useful things. Somebody should remind GRZ that Ian smith is dead already,and to stop chasing there own shadow
Why has the Zambian government kept quite on their release ?. I suspect that a crime was commited against our judicial system with the support of the Government. Here the papers are claiming that these three escaped on fake passports. And nobody is allowed to expalin how they “escaped” ?????
The new case now is jumping bail? Impersonation. Who issued the fake passports to them?
In spite of the confusion manufactured by The Post-infiltrated Govt media, the truth is that the Zambian Police were just too overzealous by arresting the Czechs on grounds of spying on military structures. IG Malama should send his Officers for training on latest spying technology currently used in many countries. The Police must know that the current equipment called as GPS-map linked to the computer using Google Earth can reveal much fine detail of any piece of land (up to 1m x1m) or less. Modern GPS can be fitted on cars and on digital cameras. The Police just exposed themselves to ridicule on the story involving the 3x Czechs.
#9
Every country has got its protected areas, imagine what will happen if they found you taking pictures of their nuclear power plant installations?. Actual ground intelligence is more reliable than a million computers and that is what the Zambian police believe and it is a good and reliable policy. A people who is 2 metres from an object will notice more details than someone observing  from 2Km away, simple fact.
The Judiciary in Zambia does not work. A case like this should be disposed of within a few weeks. In Zambia it takes forever. If you cannot try a case within a reasonable time period, you should let the accused go.
Some laws are just stupid anyway. I remember when my visitor and my wife were matched to a local police station by UNIP cadres for taking photos in a market. Surely one of the best pictures a tourist can take is that of an African market. Fortunately, the sergent on duty appologised and let them go. It is ridiculous when you can have photos of Heathrow airport in your album but not those of Lusaka airport. Mind you, some British tourists also found themselves in trouble when the took photos of an aircraft in Greece. But that case was tried within days!
This matter has not been properly executed and should not have taken place. The State House entrance is a tourist attraction just like entrencies to presidential residences in other countries. Coming on to the ZAF plane, why should we care about a plane that is out of service and for that matter which we as a country did not manufacture? Planes that are no longer in use must be parked at a site where people can view them or take pictures. They must be part of a museum where people can even be made to pay a fee to go see them. That way ZAF can also make some money to be used for a good cause. Let’s focuss attention on important things. One Zambia One Nation.
I’ve visited military bases in the U.S. and I took pictures. I was not harassed or questioned. I’m sure those were not spies by tourists. Who’d be threatened with military equipment that was last used by Fred and Wilma Flintstone? PARANOIA at work.
Why is the government silent on this issue, is it because they are ashamed that the Czechs were “smuggled’ out of the country which again shows loopholes in the outbound security of the country? Here is where they should focus.
The whole saga was a flipflop, nothing else.
Shame.
Three Czech guys arrested for photographing historical aircrafts of Czech production. No offence but in The Czech Republic hardly anyone knows where exactly Zambia lies, nor could anyone care less about this land. I believe this artificial affair might’ve been fabricated in order to divert focus away from more serious issues connected with the presidential election. At least no clear-headed person could take this affair seriously.The inability to sort the thing out quickly and reasonably also proved how inefficient the local government is. As a consequence Zambia achieved very negative publicity.