Roupa, 25-year-old woman charged with running new terror group
An Athens prosecutor has brought charges against Panagiota Roupa, a leading member of the Revolutionary Struggle guerrilla group, and a 25-year-old woman, of running a new terrorist organization.
Roupa and the woman were arrested early on Thursday in separate raids in two different suburbs of Athens following months of police surveillance.
The two women face charges of forming and operating a terrorist organization, including procuring guns and explosives, and of theft aimed at funding terrorist acts.
On the run since 2014, 48-year-old Roupa was found in hiding with her 5-year-old son during a raid shortly after 6 a.m. on Thursday by officers of the Greek Police’s counterterrorism department and the EKAM special forces.
According to police sources, Roupa, whose partner is the jailed leader of Revolutionary Struggle Nikos Maziotis, did not attempt to resist arrest or reach for a gun she had on her but asked officers to protect her child.
In a parallel operation, police arrested a 25-year-old woman after raiding an apartment in Aghios Dimitrios. The woman, who was detained on charges of harboring a criminal, is alleged to have helped Roupa during her time on the run.
Both Roupa and Maziotis have started a hunger strike, demanding that their child, be released from authorities into the hands of relatives.
The Justice Ministry on Friday rebuffed reports that the child was being held on ministry premises.
