US condemns release of convicted Greek terrorist leader Giotopoulos

The United States criticized a Greek court's decision to release Alexandros Giotopoulos, the convicted leader of the defunct terrorist group 17 November, and urged Greek authorities to ensure he is returned to prison.

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

Giotopoulos was convicted in 2003 as the leader and mastermind of 17 November, a far-left Greek terrorist organization responsible for a decades-long campaign of assassinations and bombings. He was sentenced to 17 life terms plus 25 years in prison.

The 82-year-old convicted terrorist leader was released from an Athens prison earlier this month after a judicial panel approved his conditional release, citing his advanced age.

The State Department noted that the group killed four US government employees — CIA station chief Richard Welch, Navy Capt. George Tsantes, Navy Capt. William Nordeen and Air Force Sgt. Ronald Stewart — as well as a British military attache, 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 seeking to annul the decision on the grounds that Giotopoulos had not served the minimum required prison term.

The US urged the Greek government "to do all it can to return Giotopoulos to prison."

The State Department said Giotopoulos had never accepted responsibility for the killings or expressed remorse, and stressed that "terrorism must never be tolerated or excused."

The release has renewed attention on one of Europe's most notorious militant groups, which carried out assassinations and bombings for nearly three decades before being dismantled by Greek authorities in 2002.

AA