Jailed N17 terrorists could file for conditional release as of Tuesday
Four jailed members of the now-defunct Greek terrorist group November 17, including leader Alexandros Giotopoulos, will be able to apply as of Tuesday for a prison release under conditions, due to the provisions of the new penal code which took effect on July 1.
According to the new provisions of law 110A, the right to an early release under specific conditions has been extended to lifers irrespective of their crime and the number of life sentences they have been handed, provided they have served 17 years.
If they apply for release and it is approved, the convicted terrorists will remain under house arrest and wear an electronic tag.
Under the previous penal code, people convicted of terrorism were explicitly excluded from the use of an electronic ankle bracelet.
November 17 killed 23 people over a period of almost three decades, including politicians, businessmen, industrialists, publishers, as well as American, Turkish and British diplomats and officials.
Alexandros Giotopoulos, the leader of the group, is serving 17 life sentences and 25 years for his role in the terrorist group.
Another three terrorists, the brothers Savvas and Christodoulos Xiros, along with Vassilis Tzortzatos, who are also serving multiple life sentences, fulfil the requirements for an early release.
N17's assassin Dimitris Koufodinas will be able to apply in early September this year, when he will have completed 17 years behind bars.
Koufodinas is currently serving his sentence in a low-security prison in the town of Volos. He has been granted several furloughs but the seventh was rejected by a local prosecutor twice.
The prosecutor has justified the decision by pointing to the new charges of insurgency that have been brought against the November 17 hitman in connection with a protest in solidarity with a hunger-striking anarchist in February 2018 and the fact that he has not shown any remorse for his actions.
A prison council will decide in the coming days if the rejection will be upheld.
