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3w ago

Greece Frees 17N Leader Alexandros Giotopoulos After Judicial Panel Approval

Granted on age and health grounds with strict conditions, the release is now under review by a Supreme Court prosecutor for possible challenge.

ATHENS, GREECE: Alexandros Giotopoulos is shown in this photograph from 1972. Giotopoulos is suspected of being one of the leaders of the urban guerrilla group November 17. The group has claimed responsibility for killing numerous military and government officials during the last 27 years. (Photo by Getty Images)
Alexandros Giotopoulos (L), leader of Greece's notorious November 17 urban guerrillas, stands inside a court room in Korydallos prison, a few kilometres west of Athens December 2, 2005. The 15 members of the group returned to court on Friday to appeal multiple life sentences handed down two years ago for a 27-year killing spree with Giotopoulos demanding his full acquittal. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis/File Photo
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Overview

  • Alexandros Giotopoulos, 82, was released from Korydallos prison after a judicial panel approved his fifth request for conditional release, with officials saying the decision took place on Thursday.
  • Giotopoulos was arrested in 2002, convicted in 2003 and in 2007 was sentenced on appeal to 17 life terms plus 25 years for his role linked to the November 17 group.
  • The court imposed conditions that require him to stay in Greece, live at a registered address and report regularly to a police station.
  • A senior prosecutor at Greece’s Supreme Court is reexamining the panel’s ruling and may seek to challenge the release in court, keeping the decision legally unsettled.
  • November 17 was a Marxist urban guerrilla group that killed 23 people between 1975 and 2000, several other convicted members remain imprisoned, and authorities cited Giotopoulos’s age, health, prior furloughs and compliance as reasons for the panel’s approval.