Revolutionary Organization 17 November

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November 17 (also known as 17N or N17) has been described as a Marxist Greek terrorist group (Greek: Επαναστατική Οργάνωση 17 Νοέμβρη, Epanastatiki Organosi dekaefta Noemvri); it is listed on the U.S. State Department list of designated foreign terrorist organizations, the list of EU designated terrorist organisations, and the UK Home Office list of terrorist groups. N17 was named in reference to an uprising in 1973 against the American backed Greek Military Junta (1967 - 1974) ruling Greece at the time.

This "Junta" or Regime of the Colonels was largely perceived by the Greek public opinion to have been backed by the United States as part of Washington's anti-Communist efforts. This prompted the newly-founded terrorist group to attack American targets.

Contents 1 Attacks 2 Victims 3 Trial 4 References

[edit] Attacks

N17's first attack, in December 1975, was against the CIA's station chief in Athens, Richard Welch. Welch was gunned down outside his residence by three to four assailants, in front of his wife and driver. The group multiplied its attacks against center-right Greek personalities and NATO personnel after the formation of the leftist/socialist PASOK government in 1981. After the 1983 slaying of Nikos Momferatos, a note was found near the corpse stating that Greece "remained a puppet regime in the hands of the American imperialists and the economic establishment." In addition to its anti-American agenda, the group was also opposed to Turkey and NATO. In total, N17 has conducted 19 attacks against U.S. targets and 9 against Turks and dozens more against US interests. However, the majority of the 103 attacks carried out between 1975 and 2002 were directed against right-of-center Greeks and Greek companies.

One of 17N's most prominent targets was New Democracy member Pavlos Bakoyannis, who was shot at close range in downtown Athens in September 1989. Other victims included Captain George Tsantes Jr, United States Navy officer and head of JUSMAGG (Joint United States Military Aid Group to Greece), and his Greek driver, both shot while driving to work; Nikos Momferatos, the publisher of a conservative newspaper titled Apogevmatini, shot in Athens; Captain William Nordeen U.S.N., whose car was destroyed by a car-bomb a few meters from his residence, as he drove past it on 28 June 1988; U.S. Air Force Sergeant Ronald O. Stewart, who was killed by a car bomb outside his residence on 12 March 1991; Cetin Gorgu, Turkish press attaché, shot in his car on 7 October 1991; Omer Haluk Sipahioglu, a Turkish embassy official, shot on an Athens street on 4 July 1994; Anglo-Hellenic shipping tycoon Constantinos Peratikos, shot leaving his office on 28 May 1997; and Brigadier Stephen Saunders on 8 June 2000. This list is by no means comprehensive.

In many instances, the group used a .38 caliber pistol retrieved from a policeman killed in 1984, or a .45 M1911 handgun, which came to be regarded as their signature weapon. ^[1] While face-to-face assassination was their early modus operandi, the group later used rockets and bombs stolen from Greek military facilities. Over 50 rocket attacks were claimed by 17N, starting with an attack on a Greek police bus in which 14 were wounded and 1 killed.

After their inaugural attack on the CIA station chief, the group tried to get mainstream newspapers to publish their manifesti. Their first proclamation, claiming the murder of Richard Welch, was first sent to "Liberation" in Paris, France. It was given to the publisher of "Liberation" via the offices of Jean Paul Sartre^[2], but was not published. After subsequent attacks, 17N usually sent a communique to the Eleftherotypia newspaper. The group argued in its communiques that it wanted to rid Greece of U.S. bases, to remove the Turkish military from Cyprus, and to sever Greece's ties to the NATO and the European Union.

The actions of N17 were conducted with impunity from 1975 to 2002, as no member of the group was identified or arrested during that period. However, on June 29, 2002 the Greek authorities captured an injured suspect, Savvas Xiros, following a failed bombing attempt on the Flying Dolphin ferry company in Piraeus. A search of Xiros' person and interrogation led to the discovery of two safe houses and to the arrests six more suspects, including two brothers of Savvas. A 58-year-old professor and economist, Alexandros Giotopoulos, was identified as the group leader and was arrested on July 17 on the island of Lipsi. On September 5, Dimitris Koufodinas, identified as the group's chief of operations, surrendered to the authorities. In all, nineteen individuals were charged with some 2,500 offenses relating to the activities of N17.

[edit] Victims

A partial list of the victims:^[3]

• Richard Welch, CIA attache in Athens. (23 December 1975)
• Evangelos Mallios, former policeman who tortured prisoners during the period of military junta. (14 December 1976)
• Pantelis Petrou, assistant commander of the Greek police force's Riot Control Unit (M.A.T) (16 January 1980)
• Sotiris Stamoulis, driver of above mentioned (16 January 1980)
• George Tsantes, a US Navy Commander, high level executive of JUSMAG (15 November 1983)
• Nikos Veloutsos, driver of above mentioned (15 November 1983)
• Robert Judd, Army Master Sergeant, Postal officer for JUSMAG in Greece. (3 April 1984)
• Nikos Momferatos, publisher of the "Apogevmatini" newspaper. (21 February 1985)
• Georgios Roussetis, driver of above mentioned (21 February 1985)
• Dimitrios Aggelopoulos, President of the board of Halyvourgiki S.A. (8 April 1986)
• Alexander Athanasiadis-Bodosakis, industrialist (1 March 1988)
• William Nordeen, a US Navy Commander, (23 June 1988)
• Constantinos Androulidakis, attorney
• Pavlos Bakoyannis, New Democracy party member (20 November 1990)
• Ronald O. Stewart,a US Air Force Sergeant (13 March 1991)
• Cetin Gorgu, Turkish Press attache (7 October 1991)
• Athanasios Axarlian, student (14 July 1992)
• Michael Vranopoulos, former governor of the National Bank of Greece. (24 January 1994)
• Omer Haluk Sipahioglu, consul of the Turkish Embassy in Athens (4 July 1994)
• Constantinos Peratikos, ship owner, last person to own the shipyards of Scaramangas (28 May 1997)
• Stephen Saunders, military attache of the British Embassy in Athens (15 June 2000)

[edit] Trial

The trial of the terrorist suspects commenced in Athens on March 3, 2003, with Christos Lambrou serving as the lead prosecutor for the Greek state.^[4] Because of the 20-year statute of limitations, crimes committed before 1984 (such as the killing of the CIA station chief) could not be tried by the court. On December 8, fifteen of the accused, including A. Giotopoulos and D. Koufodinas, were found guilty; another four defendants were acquitted for lack of evidence. The convicted members were sentenced on December 17, 2003.^[5] All those convicted defendants appealed, and the appeal trials are currently underway. ^[6]

[edit] References

1. ^ Trademark Colt pistol is identified - Archived article from Kathimerini newspaper 7-18-2002. [1]
2. ^ Giotopoulos the son of renowned Greek Trotskyite - Cyprus Mail archive article - Saturday, July 20, 2002 [2]
3. ^ Chronology of all November 17 attacks - Archived article from Kathimerini newspaper 7-8-2002. [3]
4. ^ Nov17 trial begins - Archived article from Kathimerini newspaper 3-3-2003. [4]
5. ^ Deadly November 17 to end its life in prison - Archived article from Kathimerini newspaper 18 Dec 03 [5]
6. ^ No TV in 17N trial - Archived article from Athens News Agency, 9 Dec 05 [6]