ATHENS (AP) - A court postponed taking a decision
Thursday on a request by a Greek civil rights group to
ground an Olympic security blimp floating over Athens
because it allegedly violates people's right to
privacy.
Judge Maria Klonari said she would rule late next week
on a restraining order against the blimp demanded by a
group called Democratic Rally for Privacy Rights.
The group last week asked the court to ground the
60-metre blimp that has been flying over Athens since
July 24 as part of the city's security network for the
Olympic Games.
Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos told
reporters Thursday that the blimp did not violate
people's privacy. He said Greece's Data Protection
Agency - a privacy watchdog - had approved the
government's security plans.
The airship is mounted with dome-shaped sensors,
including chemical "sniffers" and ultra-high
resolution cameras. During the Aug. 13-29 Games, the
airship will float over the capital for more than 15
hours daily, joining a network of surveillance vans
and nine police helicopters.
The blimp is part of an electronic web of more than
1,000 cameras, sensors and other devices tied together
over a secure communications network to a command
centre. The system cost 255 million euros ($404
million Cdn) and took up a considerable portion of
Athens's record security budget of more than 1.2
billion euros ($1.9 billion).