Greek authorities have released Alexandros Giotopoulos, a key leader of the now-defunct communist group Revolutiony Organization 17 November. The release comes after an appeals court approved his request for conditional release.. The decision also overturns an earlier ruling by a lower judicial council that had rejected the application following a negative recommendation from prosecutors.
Giotopoulos, 82, walked free Thursday afternoon from Korydallos high-security prison in Athens, according to judicial sources. The Piraeus Appeals Council approved the request and imposed a series of strict conditions on his release, including a travel ban outside Greece, mandatory appearances at a local police station every 15 days, and a requirement to maintain a registered permanent residence.
The request was attempt number five for his release, having been formally submitted on October 23, 2025. Court documents and reports show that the decision came after an appeals process, following an initial rejection. Media reports also hint that Glotopoulos may be in declining health, though court officials have not given details into the ruling.
Giotopoulos was arrested in 2002 on the island of Lipsi after Greek police dismantled November 17, the violent Marxist urban guerrilla group responsible for a long-running campaign of assassinations and bombings across the nation. He denied involvement throughout the investigation and subsequent proceedings.
In 2003, a Greek court convicted him in connection with the group’s activities. An appeals court later issued a sentence in 2007 imposing 17 life terms along with an additional 25-year prison term, designating him a “moral instigator” in crimes attributed to the organization.
November 17 operated for more than two decades, carrying out attacks that included the killing of foreign diplomats and officials. Among its earliest known victims was Richard Welch, a CIA station chief killed in Athens in 1975. In all, the group killed at least two Americans, including a US army attache in 1988.
Its final confirmed attack occurred in 2000 with the assassination of British defense attache Stephen Saunders in an attack that CIA officer John Kiriakou says was originally intended for him. The group took its name from the date of the 1973 student uprising against Greece’s military dictatorship, which was violently suppressed.
Giotopoulos had been serving his sentence at Korydallos Prison, one of Greece’s most secure correctional facilities.