Leader of terror group “17 November” released from jail; prosecutor seeks to revoke decision

Alexandros Giotopoulos, who was jailed as leader of the terrorist organization “17 November”, was released from Korydallos jail on Thursday afternoon.

The 82-year-old was released after 24 years for health reasons

Friday morning, the prosecutor of Supreme court seeks to revoke the decision.

82-year-old Giotopoulos was released after 24 years for “health reasons” despite the fact that he was sentenced 17 times to life plus 25 years imprisonment.

Giotopoulos nicknamed “Lambros”, as he was known within the terrorist group, had applied for release five times. The last one, made October 23, 2025, was accepted by the relevant judicial council (the Appellate Council of Piraeus).

On Thursday, he was released on conditional terms that include a ban on leaving the country, a mandatory signing in at a police station near his residence, and is prohibited from leaving his place of residence.

It should be recalled that in Greece even those sentenced several times to life sentences are being released after they serve 25 years in prison, while one more factor is that those over 80 years old do not land in jail no matter the crime.

As of 2022, he was given regular permits to leave jail, whose terms he had observed. He had been sentenced as the mastermind behind the 17 November crimes. He was arrested in 2002 at Lipsi Islands.

He never accepted the role attributed to him, neither did he show any remorse.

Members of “17 November” who remain in jail include Dimitris Koufodinas and the brothers Savvas and Christodoulos Xiros.