The convicted leader of a far-left Greek militant group responsible for the deaths of 23 people, including four American officials, has been released from a maximum-security prison, officials confirmed on Friday. However, the decision is now under review by a senior prosecutor who may seek to overturn it.
Release of Alexandros Giotopoulos
Alexandros Giotopoulos, 82, the former head of the notorious November 17 organization, was released on Thursday from a prison in Athens. A judicial panel granted his conditional release citing his advanced age, deteriorating health, and good conduct during incarceration. The panel's ruling has sparked renewed scrutiny, with a prosecutor at Greece's Supreme Court examining the decision and potentially challenging it.
Background of November 17
The group, named after the date in 1973 when a student uprising against Greece's military dictatorship was violently suppressed, carried out bombings, assassinations, and bank robberies for over 25 years. Its first recorded attack was the 1975 fatal shooting of Richard Welch, the CIA station chief in Athens. The group's secrecy unraveled after a botched bombing in 2002 left one member seriously injured, leading authorities to uncover its operations and membership.
Giotopoulos, born in Paris and living under an assumed identity for years, was serving 17 life sentences plus 25 years. He was convicted in 2003, with the verdict upheld on appeal in 2007, for orchestrating multiple murders, bombings, and robberies, as well as participation in a criminal organization. He has consistently denied all charges, claiming co-defendants were coerced into false accusations.
Conditions of Release
Authorities considering his release noted that Giotopoulos completed university correspondence courses while in prison and complied with the terms of furloughs granted in recent years. The group claimed responsibility for attacks targeting industrialists, diplomats, and senior judges, including the killings of two Turkish Embassy staff members and Stephen Saunders, the British defense attache in Athens, in 2000.
Three of the 15 original November 17 members convicted in the case remain in prison. The Supreme Court prosecutor's review could potentially reverse the release decision, prolonging the legal saga surrounding one of Greece's most notorious terrorist figures.
