US Condemns Release of 17 November Leader, Urges Return to Prison

(MENAFN) The United States has voiced strong opposition to a Greek court's decision to grant conditional release to Alexandros Giotopoulos, the convicted leader of the now-defunct militant organization 17 November, and urged Greek authorities to seek his return to prison.

In a statement issued on May 29, the U.S. Department of State said it was "deeply disappointed" by a ruling from the Piraeus Court of Appeals that approved Giotopoulos' conditional release.

Giotopoulos was found guilty in 2003 of leading and orchestrating the activities of 17 November, a far-left militant group that carried out assassinations and bombings in Greece over several decades. He received a sentence of 17 life terms in addition to 25 years in prison.

The 82-year-old was released from a prison in Athens earlier this month after a judicial panel cited his advanced age as justification for granting conditional freedom.

According to the State Department, victims of the group's attacks included four US government employees — Richard Welch, George Tsantes, William Nordeen and Ronald Stewart — as well as a British military attaché, a Turkish Embassy employee and several prominent Greek figures.

"We strongly support" efforts to overturn the release, the State Department said, referring to an appeal filed on May 25 by Greece's deputy supreme court prosecutor challenging the ruling on the basis that Giotopoulos had allegedly not completed the minimum prison term required for release.

The United States also called on the Greek government "to do all it can to return Giotopoulos to prison."

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