Plane spotters await prison

Twelve British plane-spotters today face another two weeks in Greek jails as they wait to hear whether espionage charges will be brought against them.

A Greek investigating magistrate last night decided to refer the case to a higher court for a collective decision. The plenary council of magistrates convenes urgently today, but the group's defence counsel said a decision would take between 10 and 15 days.

If the charges are dismissed, as they still hope, the Britons will be home in time for Christmas. In the meantime, though, Lesley Coppin, 50, the only woman in the group, is being held in a prison wing with Greek and foreign women on charges including murder and prostitution.

The eleven British and two Dutch men are being held in a prison in Nafplion, close to Kalamata in southern Greece, where they were arrested while attending a display at a military airbase on 8 November.

Speaking after last night's decision to prolong their imprisonment, Paul Coppin said the group was "very angry" and "psychologically shocked at having to spend more time in jail for something we haven't done".

He said they were not being mistreated. An official at the prison said the men were allowed unlimited use of mobile phones.

Foreign Minister George Papandreou is expected to address the issue again this afternoon, when he is the guest speaker at a lunch and press conference hosted by the Foreign Press Association of Greece. Papandreou sent senior ministry officials to visit Mrs Coppin and has requested that the detainees be given the best possible treatment.

More information has emerged which helps explain why the Britons are being held

The investigating magistrate and a spokesman for the council convening today said additional security measures had been in place around military bases ever since the 11 September terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.

Greece is also under growing international pressure to improve security in the run-up to the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, he said.

The defence lawyer for those accused, Yannis Zacharias, said: "We are still very optimistic that the charges will be dismissed and that everyone will be freed and home by Christmas, but this prolongs the agony unnecessarily." Mr Coppin, of Uxbridge, said: "We are very disappointed. We thought that the charges would be dropped and that we would be free tonight.

'We're still very optimistic that we are winning ground and will be freed in the end, but another ten days in prison is nothing to be happy about."

Mr Zacharias added: "We thought we had won. The investigating magistrate accepted most of our arguments, especially the main ones that plane-spotting is a legitimate hobby and that most of the accused weren't taking photographs or notes anyhow, and should therefore be set free.

"But he obviously just didn't want the responsibility of taking that decision alone."

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