Justice Minister George Floridis has strongly defended the Supreme Court's decision to revoke the parole of convicted terrorist leader Alexandros Giotopoulos, saying the 83-year-old shows no remorse for the killings he orchestrated and that his age provides no grounds for leniency.
"A person who is 83 years old also has 17 murders on his back," Mr. Floridis said in a television interview on Action24, adding that the founder of the November 17 terrorist group appears entirely indifferent to the gravity of his crimes.
Mr. Floridis said the Supreme Court had corrected a significant legal error by a lower appeals council that had granted Mr. Giotopoulos conditional release in May after 24 years in prison. Under a 2021 penal reform, inmates serving multiple life sentences must complete a minimum of 25 actual years before becoming eligible for parole — a threshold the lower court had failed to apply correctly.
The minister also stressed that sincere, explicit remorse is a statutory requirement for early release under Greek law.
According to the Supreme Court's written justification, Mr. Giotopoulos has consistently refused to acknowledge his actions or express any regret to victims' families since his 2003 conviction.
Following his arrest at his Athens home Monday by counter-terrorism officers, Mr. Giotopoulos spent the night at police headquarters before appearing before a Piraeus prosecutor Tuesday to formalize his return to Korydallos Prison.
November 17 carried out 23 killings over nearly three decades, targeting American, British and Greek officials before the group was dismantled in 2002.