Supreme Court reverses parole of 17 November leader Alexandros Giotopoulos, he returns to custody
Just weeks after his conditional release, convicted terrorist Alexandros Giotopoulos was taken back into custody on June 15, following a Supreme Court decision that annulled the earlier parole order.
Annulled freedom
Alexandros Giotopoulos, the convicted leader of the 17 November urban guerrilla group, walked out of Korydallos prison on 21 May 2026 under strict conditions after a court council accepted his fifth parole request. He was to remain in Vyronas, report to police monthly, and not leave the country. The decision rested on a previous law requiring at least 19 years of a life sentence served; Giotopoulos had been in custody since July 2002, nearly 24 years. However, the Supreme Court's prosecutor ordered a review, and on 15 June the 5th Criminal Division of the Areios Pagos fully annulled the release order.
- Arrested by anti‑terrorism police on the island of Lipsi.
- Appeal trial begins at the Five‑member Felony Court of Appeals.
- Released on parole under strict conditions by the Court of Appeals Council.
- Supreme Court annuls release; re‑arrested and taken to GADA overnight.
- Expected to appear before the Piraeus Appeals Prosecutor, then return to Korydallos.
A chaotic return to custody
On the same afternoon, police surrounded his Vyronas residence. Giotopoulos emerged carrying a suitcase and, under police instruction, boarded a taxi accompanied by patrol cars and special forces. Soon after, he was transferred to a police vehicle away from media cameras. He arrived at Korydallos prison gates, but the institution refused to accept him because the necessary arrest report, fingerprinting, and formal imprisonment order had not been completed. Negotiations between the prison prosecutor and the appeals prosecutor failed, and he was instead taken to the General Police Directorate of Attica (GADA) to spend the night. He will be brought before the Piraeus Appeals Prosecutor on Tuesday morning to complete the formalities and then be returned to Korydallos.
Legal tug-of-war: old law versus new
The Supreme Court's annulment was driven by Deputy Prosecutor Sophocles Logothetis, who argued that the 2021 law (4855/2021) applies, which raises the minimum served for multiple life sentences to 25 years. The court of appeals had based its release on the previous 19-year threshold. The annulment effectively reinstates the earlier denial by the Misdemeanor Court Council, and a new panel of the Court of Appeals must now re-examine the case but is bound by the Supreme Court's legal interpretation. Giotopoulos, now about 80, still has roughly one year left to reach the 25-year mark.
- Old law minimum (19 years)
- 19 years
- New law minimum (25 years)
- 25 years
- Giotopoulos served (approx.)
- 24 years
The verdict was dictated by foreign interests.
Who is Alexandros Giotopoulos?
Arrested on the island of Lipsi on 17 July 2002, Giotopoulos was tried as the alleged mastermind behind dozens of attacks by the 17 November group, which operated from 1975. He was convicted of moral instigation in multiple murders (sources vary between 17 and 21 life sentences), robberies, and bombings, plus an additional 25-year prison term. He has never expressed remorse nor accepted the charges, claiming co-defendants implicated him to gain leniency. During his incarceration, he completed a PhD in mathematics without a computer and conducted hunger strikes over prison conditions. Other convicted members, including Dimitris Koufodinas and the Xiros brothers, remain imprisoned.
