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[[Image:Revolutionary_Organization_17_November.jpg|thumb|300px|17 November, a violent Marxist-Leninist organization]]The [[Revolutionary Organization 17 November]] (also known as November 17, 17 November, 17N or N17, Greek: Επαναστατική Οργάνωση 17 Νοέμβρη), based in Greece, was one of the most active terrorist groups in Western Europe in the 1980’s[[1980s]]. The group's name derives from the [[November 17]], [[1973]] student uprising in [[Athens]] that was violently quelled by the military [[junta ]] ruling Greece at the time.
17 November is was a violent Marxist-Leninist organization. It's ideology is was anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and anti-United States/NATO. The group has had been critical of the Greek government for not addressing issues such as the situation in [[Cyprus]], the presence of US bases in Greece, and Greek membership in NATO and the European Community.
Until [[2002]] no member of the group had been identified or arrested.
==History==
===1970s through 1980s===The organizations organization's initial attacks were selected handgun assassinations of senior US officials, including US Embassy employee Richard Welch in 1975, and US Navy Captain George Tsantes in 1983. In 1975 the group began assassinating Greek officials and public figures.
Tactically, 17 November demonstrated a limited operational capability prior to 1985. From 1975 to February 21, 1985, and the Momferatos assassination, 17 November carried out six attacks. Five of these were simple assassinations requiring minimal logistical planning. The sixth operation was an attempted assassination of a US serviceman. These attacks resulted in the death of eight people (two of whom were Americans). Seven of the victims were shot with the same .45 caliber weapon. By using the same “signature” weapon, especially in the early operational stages, 17 November ensured that no other group could take credit for it’s operations.
Beginning in the [[1980s ]] bombings became a regular weapon in the group's arsenal. Among their activities during this period were attacks against US military buses in 1987 and the assassination of US defense attache William Nordeen in [[1988]]. Since ===1990s and beyond===After [[1990 ]], '''17 November has ''' also targeted European Community facilities and foreign firms investing in Greece, and added improvised rocket attacks to its methods.
The organization was responsible for at least five of the 15 terrorist attacks against coalition targets in Greece during the Gulf War, including the assassination of a US Army sergeant in March 1991. They also stepped up attacks against Turkish interests, including the attempted murder of a Turkish Embassy Official in July, and the assassination of a Turkish Embassy press attache in October 1991.
In late November, authorities arrested one of Greece’s most wanted terrorists--a suspected member of the “Anti-State Struggle” organization, possibly linked to 17 November. The group continued to attack official Greek targets. These attacks included the shooting in December of a Greek parliamentarian and the bombing of tax offices.
Greece was the venue for a large number of international terrorist attacks in [[1994]], the most serious of which was the July 4th assassination of the acting Deputy Chief of Mission of the Turkish Embassy. The Revolutionary Organization 17 November formally claimed responsibility. A number of other attacks against Western interests in April were possibly sparked by events in the Balkans. These including an unsuccessful mortar attack against the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal in [[Piraeus]], for which '''17 November ''' also took responsibility. Attacks were also executed against American, Dutch, French, and German commercial and diplomatic targets.
Following the [[November 26]], [[1986]], car bombing of a Greek police bus, which injured 13 police officers (one fatally), '''17 November ''' moved into a new operational phase. Whereas the first phase can be referred to as one of low activity, with only a limited number of operations (six attacks from [[December 23]], [[1975]], to [[February 21]], [[1985]]), the second and current phase is was characterized by a higher level of tactical sophistication, as well as an increase in the number and lethality of attacks. From [[February 21]], [[1985 ]] to it’s last possitively identified attack in [[1990 ]] (the rocket attack against the offices of the European Community on [[December 16]], [[1990]]), '''17 November has ''' carried out 40 attacks, which resulted in the deaths of five people and injured injury of 48 others. Statistically, this five-year period had accounted for 87% of all the group’s operations since [[1975]].
In June [[2000]], the group killed '''Stephen Saunders''', a British Defence Attaché. His wife went on television urging the Greek people to help apprehend his killers. No one had ever been previously allowed such a direct appeal.
==Arrests and trial==
[[Image:koufontinas.jpg|thumb|left|Photo of Dimitris Koufodinas, the man who handled most of the group's assassinations.]]
[[Image:Xiroi_koufontinas.jpg|thumb|250px|The Xiros brothers and [[Dimitris Koufodinas]] (middle) during the trial.]]
Following a failed operation in [[Piraeus]] on [[June 29]], [[2002]] the Greek authorities captured an injured suspect, Savvas Xiros. His interrogation led to the discovery of two safe houses and to the arrest of a further six suspects, including two brothers of Savvas. A 58-year-old professor and translator, [[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 offences relating to November 17's activities. Because of the 20-year statute of limitations, murders before 1984 could not tried by the court.
The trial of the terrorist suspects commenced in [[Athens]] on [[March 3]], [[2003]], with District Attorney Christos Lambrou serving as the prosecutor for the Greek state. On [[December 8]], fifteen of the accused, including A. Giotopoulos and D. Koufodinas, were found guilty; another four were acquitted for lack of evidence. The convicted members were sentenced on [[December 17]], with A. Giotopoulos sentenced to 21 life terms, the heaviest sentence in modern Greek legal history. Koufodinas received 13 life terms, Christodoulos Xeros receive 10 life terms, Savvas Xeros six, Vassilis Tzortzatos four, Iraklis Kostaris one. Lesser sentences were imposed on the remaining nine, in the light of extenuating circumstances.
Lawyers for the defendants as well as several civil rights groups have stressed the special character of the trial. The trial was conducted by a special court with closed doors and the use of television cameras prohibited. People sympathetic to their cause believe that this was so that it would be easier to condemn ''all'' the accused. Many of the accused, notably Alexandros Giotopoulos, denied their participation until the end of the year-long trial. According to Giotopoulos, he was framed so that the image of a terrorist organization led by a clear leader could be presented. The accused who did admit participation in the group, notably Dimitris Koufodinas who took "full political responsibility for all of the group's actions", presented a picture of a loose horizontally organized structure with small cells and decisions taken by discussion and consensus.
[[Image:ayiwtopoulos.jpg|thumb|right|Photo of Alexandros Giotopoulos as he was being brought in the Greek Police HQ for questioning.]]
Under Greek law, one life term is equal to a 25-year term and a convict may apply for parole after 16 years. If sentenced to more than one life term, he or she must serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole. Other sentences will run concurrently, with 25-year terms being the maximum and with parole possible after three-fifths of this term are served.
On [[September 17]], [[2004]], the imprisoned started a short-lived hunger strike protesting the especially harsh conditions of their imprisonment and their sensory isolation at [[Korydallos prison]]. According to their statements, "bourgeois democracy" takes revenge on them by enclosing them in "a prison within a prison."
On [[December 6]], [[2005]], the convicted members of 17N appeared at the court of appeal for a new lengthy trial.
==List of Targets==
The following constitutes a list of activities attributed to 17N:
*[[December 1223]] [[1975]]: Murder of CIA Station Chief Richard Welch in [[Psychiko]]
*[[December 13]] [[1976]]: Assassination of Police officer Evangelos Mallios who had been discharged after torturing prisoners during the [[Junta]]
*[[January 16]] [[1980]]: Murder of MAT(Riot Squad) Deputy Director Pantelis Petrou and his driver in [[Pangrati]]*[[November 15]] [[19801983]]: US Navy Captain George Tsantes who is the head of JUSMAGG is killed with his driver Nikos Veloutsos, an employee of the US Embassy, on Kiffissia Avenue in Psychiko*[[August 3]] [[1984]]: Failed attempt against JUSMAGG officer Robert Judd near the US Airbase at [[Hellenikon]]
*[[February 21]] [[1985]]: Publisher Nikos Momferatos of the daily paper Apogevmatini and his driver are killed in [[Kolonaki]]
*[[November 26]] [[1985]]: Officer Ioannis Nikos Georgakopoulos is killed when a bomb explodes near a MAT bus near the Hilton
*[[April 8]] [[1986]]: Industrialist Dimitris Angelopoulos, chairman of Halivourgiki Steel Company and friend of Prime Minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] is killed while leaving his home in [[Kolonaki]].
*[[October 5]] [[1986]]: Bomb attacks on Tax Offices
*[[August 10]] [[1987]]: Remote control car bomb injures 11 American soldiers on a bus in Kavouri.
*[[January 21]] [[1988]]: Failed assassination on US official George Karos
*[[March 1]] [[1988]]: Murder of Industrialist Alexandros Athanasiades-Bodosakis on Kiffisias Avenue in [[Filothei]]
*June 28 1988: Assassination of US Military Attache Wiliam Nordeen by booby-trapped car in [[Kifissia]].
*[[August 15 ]] 1988: Attack on police station in Vyronas. Without firing a shot November 17th members tie up a number of police officers and leave with cache of weapons and ammunition.*[[January 10 ]] 1989: Public Prosecutor [[Constantine Androulidakis]] is wounded in the legs but dies a month later.*[[May 8 ]] [[1989]]: Former Minister [[Giorgos Petsos]] is inured injured in a bomb attack in Filothei*[[September 26 ]] 1989: [[Pavlos Bakoyiannis]], [[New Democracy ]] Parliamentary spokesman and son-in-law of party leader [[Constantine Mitsotakis ]] is shot and killed allegedly for his part in investigating the Bank of Crete scandal. He was the husband of [[Dora Bakoyiannis]] and the first active politician to be killed.*[[December 25 ]] 1989: Anti-tank rockets and ammunition are stolen from a base in [[Larissa]]*[[May 15 ]] [[1990]]: Bazookas are stolen from the Athens War Museum.*[[November 20 ]] 1990: Rocket attack on the armored limousine of businessan [[Vardis Vardinoyiannis]], who escapes unharmed.*[[March 13 ]] [[1991]]: Remote controlled bomb kills US Army Sergeant Ronald Stewart in [[Glyfada]]*[[July 16 ]] 1991: Turkish charge-d'affaires Deniz Bulikbasi Bölükbaşı is injured by a car bomb.*[[September 7 ]] 1991: Cetin GiorkuGorgu, Turkish assistant press attache is shot and killed in his car in [[Pangrati]]*[[November 2 ]] 1991: Policeman Yiannis Varis is killed and 6 other policemen are inured by rocket and grenade attack on a MAT bus in [[Exarchia]].*[[July 14 ]] [[1992]]: Finance Minister [[Ioannis Palaiokrassas]] escapes injury when his limousine is attacked by rockets but passerby Athanasios Axarlian, and a 22 -year old student is killed on Voulis street.*[[December 21 ]] 1992: [[New Democracy]] party deputy chairman Eleftherios Papadimitriou is shot but not killed.*[[January 24 ]] [[1994]]: Michalis Vranopoulos, the former governer of the National Bank of Greece is killed outside his office in [[Kolonaki]]*[[July 4 ]] 1994: Turkish Diplomat Omer Sipahioglou Sipahioglu is shot and killed in Palio [[Palaio Faliron]]*[[March 15 ]] [[1995]]: Rocket attack on [[MEGA ]] TV studios during the evening news causes damage but no deaths.*[[February 15 ]] [[1996]]: Mortar attack on the US Embassy in Athens.*[[May 25 ]] [[1997]]: Shipowner Costas Peratikos is killed in Pireaus[[Piraeus]].*[[May 17 ]] [[1999]]: Rocket attack on German Ambassador's residence in retaliation for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.*[[May 17 ]] [[2000]]: Stephen Saunders, the British defense attache is murdered while stopped in traffic in [[Filothei]].*[[June 29 ]] [[2002]]: A bomb that detonates in the hands of [[Savvas Xeros]] starts a chain reaction of arrests of Novermber 17th members. [[Category:Terrorist Groups]]
