Zambia charges 3 Czechs as spies
2011-10-24 19:06
Prague - Three Czech tourists face up to 30 years in prison in Zambia if convicted of espionage after taking pictures near military installations in the southern African country, the Czech Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The ministry said the three were employees of the Dutch exhibition logistics company A&A Expo and were visiting a friend in Zambia after a business trip to Johannesburg in South Africa.
A memo to the ministry sent by Czech diplomats in Africa and obtained by Reuters said the three were detained on October 12 and charged after taking four pictures near military sites. The three have been released on bail, the memo said.
Their photos included, the memo said, one of a decommissioned military plane on display outside a military base as well as "no entry" signs outside another installation and the entrance to the presidential palace in the capital Lusaka.
Zambian intelligence services were involved in the case, according to the memo.
