Irianna, accused of membership in urban guerrilla group, denied appeal

The five-member Athens Appeals Court Monday rejected an appeal by a 29-year-old PhD student who was convicted last month of being a member of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, an urban guerrilla group known for carrying out a series of letter bomb attacks.

The student, referred to in the local media by her first name, Irianna, had asked for her 13-year jail sentence to be suspended. She was convicted after a partial fingerprint was found on a gun clip discovered in an arms cache. She denies having any involvement with the group.

Her lawyer argues that Irianna was only implicated because her boyfriend was a suspected member of the group, although he was later cleared, and that the DNA evidence connecting her to the ammunition is not up to scrutiny. Irianna, who worked as a teacher, argued that her career and academic ambitions are being damaged by being kept in jail.

However, the court ruled in a majority decision to continue enforcing the jail sentence after the prosecutor argued that if she is freed, there is a high probability of the 29-year-old reoffending. The court’s verdict was greeted with jeers by dozens of supporters. There was a heavy police presence in and around the courtroom.