Prosecutor rejects new appeal for N17 terrorist’s furlough

A prosecutor in the town of Volos has rejected again a request to grant a convicted terrorist a new prison leave, Kathimerini understands, despite an appeal by the Supreme Court prosecutor to rethink the ruling.

The prosecutor justified the decision by pointing to the new felony charges of insurgency that have been brought against November 17 hitman Dimitris Koufodinas in connection with a protest in solidarity with a hunger-striking anarchist in February 2018.

In line with new legal provisions, Koufodinas, along with 20 more prison inmates implicated in the incident, essentially lose the right to furlough or early release due to the new charges.

The protest last year was carried out in Greek prisons to express support for Constantinos Giagtzoglou, who is being detained on charges of membership of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire guerrilla group and over a letter bomb attack against former premier Lucas Papademos.

Giagtzoglou had started a hunger and thirst strike demanding his transfer from a jail in Larissa to Attica’s Korydallos Prison, where friends of his are inmates.

A statement issued by Koufodinas and three jailed anarchists had expressed solidarity with Giagtzoglou, as had other inmates in separate statements.

Koufodinas, serving multiple life sentences for assassinations and other crimes committed as a member of N17, went on hunger strike for 20 days earlier this year after a prison court rejected what would have been his seventh furlough.

He ended in May after the penal section of the Supreme Court accepted an appeal filed by the Xeni Dimitriou against the rejection of his leave.

Koufodinas’ campaign to be granted a fresh furlough had triggered violent protests by sympathizers on the far left.