Dogs Barking, Lawyers Shouting and an Air of Disbelief As the Spotters Are Guilty of Spying

At times it was hard to know if the events unfolding in the courtroom in the Peloponnesian town of Kalamata were part of a Greek tragedy or a farce. As dogs barked, the media scrummed and lawyers shouted, 12 British and two Dutch planespotters found themselves first sent to jail and then released pending an appeal on charges of espionage.

The initial verdict came at 4.49pm local time (2.49pm BST) and when it did, the defendants sitting in the dock assumed the dazed, wan look of people whose lives had just been put on the line.

Judge Potoula Photopoulou, a short woman with raven-black hair who presided over the two-day hearing, was going through a list. The defendants no longer had names but were numbers which she was reading aloud.

All 14, she declared, had been found guilty of the charge of spying on Greece. Although some were only accomplices to the crime they had clearly endangered the national security interests of the country. Notebooks crammed with aircraft serial numbers, the discovery of a scanner and telescopic lens showed they had ill intent.

"Numbers 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 14 will be sentenced to five years in prison," the judge pronounced as the planespotters, unsure who she was referring to, looking on aghast. "Numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, and 13 get two years each."

It was now 4.53pm. The enthusiasts' five-strong legal team looked appalled. The charge of espionage had carried a maximum prison term of five years.

"But madam judge," implored Yiannis Nikiteas, a round, balding man rising to his feet. "With all due respect to the court, sentences without the possibility of suspension, without the possibility of even being paid off, surely that is too stiff? We even give Albanians in this country that right. Why not these people as well, after all they are citizens of EU member states. They have posted (£9,000) in bail."

"Don't make such a comparison," Judge Photopoulou shot back.

"But, these are ordinary people. Please be light in your judgment. Please take all mitigating circumstances into account," said Yiannis Zacharias, the group's main lawyer, also standing up.

"We shall recess to consider the request," said the judge.

Patrick Dirksen, one of the two Dutchmen, clasped his face in his hands. He sank to his knees and began to sob.

"I am staggered," said Adam Adamiak, one of the Britons. "I can't believe what's happened. Does that mean they are about to take me away, right this minute? Does that mean I am about to lose two years of my life?"

"I see the police are moving in," said Lesley Coppin, the only woman in the group. "Paul, Paul, honey," she said, turning to her husband whose Mildenhall-based company, Touchdown Tours, had organised what should have been an eight-day planespotting trip. "What's going on?"

Back in England Jean Butt, mother of Mr Coppin, was live on BBC News 24 as the verdicts were read out. "I can't believe it. They have got a flight booked home tomorrow morning," was all she could say. At 5.05pm as the Coppins clutched each other for comfort, Judge Photopoulou returned to the bench. Holding a piece of paper to her face, she whispered something to the two female magistrates beside her, and then looked at the packed room.

"Mrs Coppin and all the others who have received two-year sentences, please come to the bench," she said. "All six of you have had your sentences reduced to a year and suspended." A look of relief came over the pizza parlour manageress and her co-defendants. "The rest, please come forward. All of you have had your sentences reduced to three years and will be freed pending appeal. That means you will not be put inside."

Mr Coppin, who had taken on the pallor of a man who had not seen the light of day for years, became angry. Not long before he had been joking about returning to the Kalamata airbase - the location of the group's arrest last November - "to take a peek at a batch of new fighter jets".

"We're not spies and we proved it in this court. If we did something wrong it was because we didn't know we were doing it," he said. "This verdict is about saving face."

British embassy officials in Athens last night said they were shocked by the severity of the sentences. "A lot of diplomatic representation at the highest level will be made in the next few weeks," said one official. "Britain and Holland are keen to resolve this issue amicably."

He said that Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, was especially upset by the outcome, having spoken to his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, before the trial. Mr Straw sent all 12 planespotters a personal message of support last night. Embassy officials said that if the planespotters wanted it they hoped an appeal hearing would be held as quickly as possible so that they could clear their names and regain the £9,000 they had posted in bail.

In London the Foreign Office said: "The foreign secretary has himself spoken on many occasions to George Papandreou, the Greek foreign minister. He has always made clear he feels the response to this case has been disproportionate."

Richard Howitt, the Labour MEP who had campaigned rigorously for the group's acquittal, was more forthright: "I have no doubt that this is a gross miscarriage of justice."

The enthusiasts' ordeal

November 8 2001: Fourteen plane enthusiasts - 12 Britons and two Dutch nationals - on a trip organised by Touchdown Tours - are arrested at an airshow in Kalamata on charges of espionage.

November 16: British government intervenes and asks for Athens to show "flexibility". A week later Greek officials visit Lesley Coppin, wife of the tour leader, in Korydallos prison after reports that she is highly distressed.

November 27: After a lengthy court appearance the case is referred to a higher court.

December 3: Greek officials claim that Paul Coppin, the leader of the group, has links with Turkish intelligence.

December 10: Jack Straw meets the Greek foreign minister, George Papandreou, to appeal for the Britons' swift release.

December 13: Bail of £9,000 each is set and the charge of espionage reduced to illegally obtaining state secrets.

December 15: After 35 days behind bars the 12 Britons arrive home, facing a return to Greece within the next 12 months to stand trial.

January 22 2002: The Foreign Office apologises to 10 members of the group for failing to do enough to support them.

April 22: The 12 fly out to Athens before travelling to Kalamata for the trial.

April 24: The trial gets under way, with TV cameras allowed inside the courtroom and the defence and the prosecution shouting over one another:

Yesterday: Amid chaotic scenes, six Britons and the two Dutch defendants are sentenced to three years for spying, although they are freed pending an appeal. The remaining six, found guilty of aiding and abetting the first group, are freed after their one-year sentences are suspended.