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The two Czech game developers imprisoned by Greek authorities on charges of espionage have been denied an appeal and refused bail.
Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar were arrested in September while vacationing on the island of Lemnos.
The Greek government claims the pair were spying and taking photos and videos of military installations on the island.
If convicted, the two developers could face up to 20 years in jail.
Lemnos is the setting of Bohemia Interactive’s upcoming military simulator Arma III.
Due to a strike in the country’s legal system, the pair were forced to wait 70 days to recieve the verdict on their appeal against the case.
Buchta and Pezlar are fed twice a day and sleep on the ground of a cell crowded with 25 inmates, says a father of one developer.
“Our boys no longer tell us on the phone that it’s alright, that they’re handling it," the mother of one of the developers told Czech news site Rozhlas, as translated by Eurogamer.
"After the court’s decision we only hear from them something that no parent ever wants to hear: Mom, dad, please save us."
The pair had previously said that despite tough conditions their treatment had been fair, and they expected the "absurd misunderstanding" would be resolved quickly.
That has all changed with the denial of the appeal.
As the situation becomes increasingly desperate the victim’s families have taken the matter the the Czech president and prime minister, claiming the foreign office has not done enough.
“We cannot agree with the statement," said a foreign office official.
"We are very intensely working on this matter from all possible angles.”
The Greek military has been upset with Bohemia’s choice to use Lemnos as the setting of Arma III, claiming the accurrate rendering of the island’s coasts, topography, and infrastructure is a threat to national security.
