Plane-spotters facing Greek trial

All members of the group deny spying charges

The British plane-spotters accused of spying in Greece have said they are confident they will escape jail when they stand trial this week.

The 11 men and one woman, arrested in November last year, face a maximum five-year prison sentence.

But hours before the group were due to fly out to Athens on Monday, two of them told the BBC they were hopeful the worst outcome would be a fine or a suspended sentence.

The group was arrested, along with two Dutch men, on an air base in Kalamata, southern Greece, and held for six weeks on suspicion of spying.

There's a possibility still some or all of us may be found guilty of something

Paul Coppin

Steven Rush said their lawyers had "guaranteed" they would not go to jail.

Speaking on BBC One's Breakfast programme, he added: "Our lawyers explained to us that on paper, the worst thing that could happen is we would be given an 18-month to two-year sentence, possibly suspended.

"But the way the Greek system works, means that a sentence less than two years would be commuted into a fine.

Mr Rush said he hoped to get the charges dropped completely, not least because a conviction would jeopardise travel to the United States.

'Fanciful rubbish'

Paul Coppin, who organised the trip, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that although "in theory" they could go to prison, that was unlikely.

He added: "There's a possibility still we may get, some of us or all of us, found guilty of something and end up with a fine or suspended prison sentence."

The trial in Athens on Wednesday is expected to last two or three days.

The group was originally charged with gathering information to pass on to an enemy of Greece, which carried a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.

But that was reduced to a single "misdemeanour" charge of espionage, which has a maximum penalty of five years, or a hefty fine.

Lesley Coppin is the only woman on trial

The Britons deny photographing military planes and claim they only wrote down the planes' numbers.

Their defence lawyers have had difficulty explaining plane-spotting to a bemused public in Greece, where the hobby is virtually unheard of.

MEP Richard Howitt, who has campaigned for the 12 and will be a character witness at the trial, said: "It is fanciful rubbish to suggest that these people are spies, they are palpably innocent."

Debts

Mr Coppin has run many such trips and was said to have a fax from the Greek air force saying they would be allowed to visit airfields.

The base in Kalamata was having a public open day.

The group were released after paying bail of more than £9,000 each.

Many of them have gone into debt since their arrest because of their bail money and their legal bill, which has already topped £3,000 each.

The Britons facing trial are:

• Wayne Groves, 38, from Tamworth,
• Paul Coppin, 57, of Mildenhall, Suffolk
• His wife Lesley Coppin, 51
• Peter Norris, 52, of Uxbridge, west London
• Antoni Adamiak, 37, of London
• Andrew Jenkins, 32, of York
• Michael Bussell, 47, of Swanland, near Hull
• Michael Keane, 57, of Dartford, Kent
• Steven Rush, 38, from Caterham, Surrey
• Christopher Wilson, 46, who lives close to Gatwick Airport
• Graham Arnold, 38, from Ottershaw, Surrey
• Gary Fagan, 28, from Kegworth, Leicestershire.

The Dutch plane-spotters are Patrick Dirksen, 27, from Eindhoven and Frank Mink, 28, from Den Helder.