ATHENS, Greece — An 82-year-old man who headed a Greek extremist organization responsible for 23 deaths has walked free from a maximum-security facility, according to officials who announced the development Friday. The release is now under review by a high-ranking prosecutor.
Alexandros Giotopoulos, who led the militant organization November 17, left an Athens detention facility on Thursday.
A court panel granted his conditional freedom based on his elderly status, declining health, and positive conduct while imprisoned.
However, the ruling has sparked fresh examination. A prosecutor with Greece’s highest court is studying the decision and may attempt to overturn it.
The November 17 organization stayed hidden from law enforcement for over 25 years while conducting bombings, killings, and financial institution robberies. Their initial documented strike occurred in 1975 with the deadly shooting of Richard Welch, who served as the CIA station chief in Greece, in Athens.
The group’s careful concealment fell apart following a failed 2002 bombing that severely wounded a member, allowing investigators to discover the organization’s activities and participants.
Giotopoulos, born in Paris and who spent years living with a false identity, had been serving 17 life terms plus 25 years. His 2003 conviction was confirmed during a 2007 appeal for directing numerous killings, bombings, and thefts, along with criminal organization membership.
He has rejected all accusations, claiming that fellow defendants were coerced by officials into making untrue statements against him in return for lighter punishments.
Officials weighing his freedom observed that Giotopoulos finished university correspondence education during imprisonment and followed the conditions of temporary releases given to him recently.
The November 17 name comes from the 1973 date when student protesters opposing Greece’s military government were violently suppressed by police and military forces, resulting in multiple fatalities.
The organization took credit for strikes against business leaders, diplomatic personnel, and high-ranking judges, including the deaths of two Turkish Embassy workers and Stephen Saunders, Britain’s defense attache in Athens, in 2000.
Of the 15 original November 17 members found guilty in the case, three remain imprisoned.
