Greek court orders release of November 17 mastermind

The mastermind of the defunct Greek militant group November 17 has been released from prison after more than two decades. Alexandros Giotopoulos, 82, was freed on Thursday from the Korydallos high-security prison in Athens, according to two police sources.

A judicial panel approved a request for release that Giotopoulos filed in 2025. Media reports indicated the request cited health issues. Giotopoulos was arrested in 2002 when authorities dismantled the Marxist organization. He was convicted by a Greek court in 2003, and an appeals court later sentenced him in 2007 to 17 life terms plus 25 years imprisonment. He had denied any wrongdoing.

The group, named for the date in 1973 when Greece's military dictatorship suppressed a student uprising, was responsible for a 27-year campaign of violence. It carried out 23 killings, beginning with the fatal shooting of CIA station chief Richard Welch in Athens in 1975. Its victims included a U.S. Navy captain, Turkish diplomats, and other officials. The group's last known assassination was that of British defense attaché Stephen Saunders in 2000.

Initially focused on assassinations of senior Greek and foreign officials, November 17 expanded...