ATHENS, Aug 4 (AFP) - A Greek civil rights group said Wednesday it had asked an Athens judge to prevent a camera-laden zeppelin hired to boost security during the Olympic Games from flying over the capital for fear it would infringe on people's privacy.
The judge will rule on the group's request for a restraining order against the skyship's operation on Thursday morning, said Stratis Korakas, a spokesman for Democratic Rally.
Various Greek rights groups have protested security measures for the Athens Games, notably the hi-tech zeppelin and hundreds of security cameras installed throughout the capital in recent months.
"One day, we risk waking up in chains, but happy, in total security," Korakas, a former MP for Greece's Communist Party KKE, the country's third-largest, told AFP.
Equipped with high-resolution cameras and filled with 6,000 cubic metres (215,000 cubic feet) of helium, the zeppelin is to patrol the Athens sky from more than 1,200 metres (4,000 feet) high. Anti-chemical detectors are also part of its fitout.
Greece has spent more than two million euros (2.5 million dollars) on hiring and running the Swiss ship during the August 13-29 Athens Olympics and Paralympics.