Greece top court orders return to prison of November 17 leader Alexandros Giotopoulos

Athens, Greece. Alexandros Giotopoulos, described as the mastermind of Greece’s defunct and most lethal guerrilla group November 17, will return to prison after the country’s top court overturned his release. Police sources and the Athens News Agency reported the decision.

Case background

Giotopoulos, 82, was arrested in 2002 when police dismantled the Marxist group, which had carried out a 27-year campaign of assassinations.

Giotopoulos and other members of the group were convicted by a Greek court in 2003. He denied wrongdoing, but an appeals court sentenced him in 2007 to 17 life terms and 25 years in prison.

Release and reversal

According to media reports, Giotopoulos was released on May 21 from Korydallos high-security prison in Athens after a judicial panel approved a request he filed in 2025 on health grounds.

The Athens News Agency said the Supreme Court this week approved a prosecutor’s decision reversing that release.

Next steps

Giotopoulos appeared before a prosecutor on Tuesday and is expected to return to Korydallos prison later in the day.