Greek police probe terror ring
Source: All voices
Following the arrest of six terrorism suspects on April 11, Greek police and counter-terrorism squads have stepped up the pace of investigation as they search for further suspects and a weapons cache.
Five men and one woman, aged between 30 and 41, were charged with multiple counts of attempted homicide and other offences as members of the anarchist guerrilla group Revolutionary Struggle.
The arrests are seen as the most positive breakthrough in domestic counter-terrorism since the liquidation of November 17, Greece’s deadliest terrorism group, in 2002. Revolutionary Struggle rose to attention in 2003, and claimed headlines for a rocket attack on the American Embassy in Athens in 2007 and a blast at the Athens Stock Exchange in 2009.
A police spokesman named the suspects as Nikolaos Maziotis, 39, Evangelos Stathopoulos, 32, Christoforos Kortesis, 31, Sarantos Nikitopoulos, 32, Constantinos Gournas, 30, and Maziotis’ pregnant partner Panayiota Roupa, 41. Maziotis, 39, a self-styled anarchist, had previously been imprisoned for planting a bomb, which failed to explode, outside a ministry building a decade ago.
On April 12, police were processing materials discovered in the suspects’ hideouts. According to a police spokesman, the findings include a hand-written draft manifesto concerning a future attack on riot police (complete with notes and corrections), a computer containing several more proclamations by Revolutionary Struggle, and hand-drawn plans of several potential targets.
Burglars’ tools, masks and other disguises, and a voice distortion machine were also found.
Since the unravelling of the November 17 organisation, whose 15 members were convicted of multiple murders and more than 2,500 crimes, during the run-up to Athens’ 2004 Olympics, Greece has seen the rise of several far-left terrorist groups, notably the Revolutionary Struggle and the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, which are responsible for frequent small-scale bomb blasts in the Greek capital.
The most recent explosion, on March 28, left a teenage Afghani passer-by dead and his sister maimed.
The investigation continues, with police expected to reveal more suspects in the next few days. The public has been asked to assist with any information that could prove useful.
Following the arrest of six terrorism suspects on April 11, Greek police and counter-terrorism squads have stepped up the pace of investigation as they search for further suspects and a weapons cache.
Five men and one woman, aged between 30 and 41, were charged with multiple counts of attempted homicide and other offences as members of the anarchist guerrilla group Revolutionary Struggle.
The arrests are seen as the most positive breakthrough in domestic counter-terrorism since the liquidation of November 17, Greece’s deadliest terrorism group, in 2002. Revolutionary Struggle rose to attention in 2003, and claimed headlines for a rocket attack on the American Embassy in Athens in 2007 and a blast at the Athens Stock Exchange in 2009.
A police spokesman named the suspects as Nikolaos Maziotis, 39, Evangelos Stathopoulos, 32, Christoforos Kortesis, 31, Sarantos Nikitopoulos, 32, Constantinos Gournas, 30, and Maziotis’ pregnant partner Panayiota Roupa, 41. Maziotis, 39, a self-styled anarchist, had previously been imprisoned for planting a bomb, which failed to explode, outside a ministry building a decade ago.
On April 12, police were processing materials discovered in the suspects’ hideouts. According to a police spokesman, the findings include a hand-written draft manifesto concerning a future attack on riot police (complete with notes and corrections), a computer containing several more proclamations by Revolutionary Struggle, and hand-drawn plans of several potential targets.
Burglars’ tools, masks and other disguises, and a voice distortion machine were also found.
Since the unravelling of the November 17 organisation, whose 15 members were convicted of multiple murders and more than 2,500 crimes, during the run-up to Athens’ 2004 Olympics, Greece has seen the rise of several far-left terrorist groups, notably the Revolutionary Struggle and the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, which are responsible for frequent small-scale bomb blasts in the Greek capital.
The most recent explosion, on March 28, left a teenage Afghani passer-by dead and his sister maimed.
The investigation continues, with police expected to reveal more suspects in the next few days. The public has been asked to assist with any information that could prove useful.
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