A Syriza lawmaker's public defence of convicted November 17 leader Alexandros Giotopoulos has ignited a fierce national backlash, with journalists, victims' families and political figures uniting in condemnation after she described his return to prison as a "defeat for democracy."
Elena Akrita, a Syriza member of parliament, billed the Supreme Court's decision to revoke the 83-year-old's parole as an act of "political revanchism" — comments that drew immediate and widespread condemnation across social media and political circles, reigniting one of the most charged debates in modern Greek public life.
The sharpest response came from prominent journalist and lyricist Aris Davarakis, who posted a photograph of his close friend Kostis Peratikos, a shipowner murdered by November 17 in 1997. Mr. Davarakis noted that evidence recovered at Giotopoulos's own residence had secured his conviction for orchestrating 17 killings.
"This cold beast sent 17 people to the grave, and he shouldn't serve 25 years?" Mr. Davarakis wrote, addressing Mrs. Akrita directly and invoking the memory of Peratikos's widow and two children — toddlers at the time of their father's assassination.
The controversy follows the Supreme Court's emergency ruling Monday that inmates serving multiple life sentences must complete a minimum of 25 years before applying for parole — a threshold Giotopoulos had not met. Under the binding decision, he will remain at Korydallos Prison until at least early 2027.
November 17 carried out 23 killings over nearly three decades, targeting American, British and Greek officials, before the organization was dismantled in 2002.