Convicted leader of Greek militant group sent back to prison

Alexandros Giotopoulos, the convicted leader of the now-defunct Greek militant group November 17, returned to prison on Monday after Greece's Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that granted him conditional release last month, reported Xinhua.

The 82-year-old was re-arrested and transferred to Korydallos prison near Athens after the Supreme Court found that he had been released before fulfilling the legal requirements for parole.

Giotopoulos is serving 17 life sentences and an additional 25-year prison term for crimes linked to the activities of November 17. Greek law requires prisoners serving multiple life sentences to complete at least 25 years of actual imprisonment before becoming eligible for parole. Having spent about 24 years in custody since his arrest in 2002, Giotopoulos is expected to remain in prison for about another year.

He was granted parole on May 21 under strict conditions, including a travel ban and mandatory reporting to police authorities.

Giotopoulos was arrested during the dismantling of November 17 and was convicted in 2003 as the group's leader.

November 17, named after the 1973 student uprising against Greece's military dictatorship, carried out a campaign of assassinations and bombings from 1975 to 2002. The group was blamed for more than 100 attacks and the deaths of 23 people before it was dismantled.