Alexandros Giotopoulosconvicted arsenic the person of a terrorist enactment “November 17”In the evening May 21 got retired of situation Corydallos by determination Council of the Court of Appeal. The merchandise came with restrictive conditions.
Giotopoulos, who is present 82 years oldwas sentenced successful the 2nd lawsuit to 17 beingness sentences and much 25 years imprisonment for motivation complicity successful crimes “November 17”including murders, explosions and robberies. At archetypal lawsuit helium was prescribed 21 beingness sentences.
According to Greek media, it was his fifth petition for release. The exertion has been submitted October 23, 2025. WITH 2022 Giotopoulos received situation permission and was noted to comply with the established conditions.
What conditions did the tribunal impose?
The entreaty tribunal committee allowed Giotopoulos’ release, mounting restrictions: helium is prohibited from leaving the country, helium indispensable person a imperishable spot of residence and regularly study to the constabulary station. According to Newsitwe are talking astir reporting to the section astatine your spot of residence.
Other cardinal defendants successful the lawsuit stay successful situation “November 17”including Dimitris Koufodinas, Savvas Xiros And Christodoulos Xiros.
Who is Giotopoulos
Alexandros Giotopoulos calved successful 1944 V Paris. He was the son Dimitris Giotopoulosa well-known fig of the Greek Trotskyist movement. He studied successful France, where helium recovered himself among the extremist near and anti-dictatorship circles.
For the Greek authorities helium was a antheral under the nickname “Lampros” – supposed ideologist and person “November 17”. The probe believed that it was helium who wrote the proclamations, chose targets and maintained the closed structure of the organization. Giotopoulos himself denied for years that helium was a person 17Νcalling the lawsuit against himself fabricated.
One of the astir celebrated episodes successful the past of the enactment was the execution successful 1975 caput of station CIA successful Athens Richard Welch. We wrote astir this successful item earlier “Athens News”: “27 years of terror and dozens of beingness sentences. A Brief History of “November 17th” And “Nobody took the archetypal execution “November 17” seriously”.
How “November 17” collapsed
The extremity of the enactment has begun June 29, 2002when the weaponry exploded successful my hands Savvas Xiros astatine the larboard Piraeus. Police then tracked down the identities, weapons, fingerprints and connections of a radical that had remained elusive for decades.
Giotopoulos was detained July 17, 2002 connected the land Lipseyshortly earlier boarding the ship. For galore years, according to investigators, helium lived under the sanction Michalis Ikonomou and led an outwardly quiescent beingness while the authorities were looking for a antheral who was considered the top of the structure 17Ν.
Editorial comment
Liberation Alexandros Giotopoulos will inevitably origin a terrible reaction. The instrumentality allows for conditional merchandise aft serving a specified term, but society looks beyond the articles of the code. It remembers murders, bombings, victims’ families and astir three decades of terror.
In such cases, ineligible process collides with motivation memory. The state tin say: the conditions person been met, the determination has been made. But for the relatives of the victims and for society, the operation “17 beingness sentences” adjacent to the word “released” it still sounds similar a blow.
That’s why it’s important not to turn this story into a romanticist underground myth. “November 17” was not a legend, but a terrorist enactment that near down blood, fearfulness and dozens of destroyed lives. The remainder is governmental packaging for those who are much comfy admiring violence from a harmless distance.
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