Editing Revolutionary Organization 17 November

{{short description|Greek urban guerrilla organization (1975–2002)}}
{{redirect|17N|the airport with the FAA code 17N|Cross Keys Airport|the isotope of nitrogen (<sup>17</sup>N)|Nitrogen-17}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2022}}
{{use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name = Revolutionary Organization 17 November 
| logo = Drapeau de l'Organisation révolutionnaire du 17-Novembre.svg
| caption = Flag of 17N
| native_name      = Επαναστατική Οργάνωση 17 Νοέμβρη
| native_name_lang = el
| dates = 1975–2002
| leader = {{ubl|[[Alexandros Giotopoulos]]}}
| motives = {{bulleted list|Removal of [[Souda Bay#Current military activities|U.S. bases in Greece]]| Removal of [[Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command|Turkish military presence in Cyprus]]| Severing of Greek ties with [[NATO]] and the [[European Union]]| Launching an anti-capitalist popular uprising against the Greek upper-class<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/november-17-revolutionary-peoples-struggle-revolutionary-struggle-greece-leftists|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110114608/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/november-17-revolutionary-peoples-struggle-revolutionary-struggle-greece-leftists|archive-date=10 November 2017|title=November 17, Revolutionary People's Struggle, Revolutionary Struggle (Greece, leftists)|website=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|date=12 January 2007}}</ref>}}
| area = [[Greece]]
| ideology = {{ubl|[[Communism]]|[[Marxism–Leninism]]|[[Guevarism]]|[[Foco|Foco theory]]|[[Left-wing nationalism]]|[[Revolutionary socialism]]}}
| position = [[Far-left politics|Far-left]]
| status = Defunct
| financing = [[Bank robbery]]
| crimes = Assassinations, property damage, robbery
| designated_as_terror_group_by = Greece, Turkey, UK, US
| country = Greece
}}
'''Revolutionary Organization 17 November''' ({{langx|el|Επαναστατική Οργάνωση 17 Νοέμβρη}}, ''Epanastatiki Organosi dekaefta Noemvri''), also known as '''17N''' or the '''17 November Group''', was a [[Greece|Greek]] [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] [[urban guerrilla]] organization. Formed in 1975 and led by [[Alexandros Giotopoulos]], 17N conducted an extensive urban guerrilla campaign of [[Left-wing terrorism|left-wing violence]] against the Greek state, banks, and businesses. The organization committed 103 known [[Armed robbery|armed robberies]], [[assassination]]s, and [[bombing]] attacks, during which 23 people were killed.<ref>http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/press/november17terrorists.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903030157/http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/press/november17terrorists.htm |date=3 September 2011 }} 17 November Terrorist Organization Chronology of Attacks</ref>

The organization is known for targeting American, British and other foreign diplomats and military personnel, particularly in retribution against the United States for its support of the [[coup d'état]] and the dictatorship known as the [[Regime of the Colonels]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gerstenzang |first=James |last2=Boudreaux |first2=Richard |date=1999-11-21 |title=Clinton Says U.S. Regrets Aid to Junta in Cold War |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-21-mn-35991-story.html |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Their demands have included the removal of American military bases in Greece, the removal of Turkish military forces from [[Northern Cyprus]] and the withdrawal of Greece from [[NATO]] and the [[European Union]]. The ''Encyclopedia of Terrorism'' describes them as "a durable, lethal and successful group" who evaded authorities for over 25 years.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Combs|first1=Cindy C. |last2=Slann |first2=Martin |title=Encyclopedia of Terrorism |date=2007 |language=en |publisher=Facts on File |location=New York}}</ref>

==Attacks==
17N's first attack, on 23 December 1975, was against the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s [[List of CIA station chiefs|station chief]] in [[Athens]], [[Richard Welch]]. Welch was gunned down outside his residence by three assailants, in front of his wife and driver.<ref name="Nomikos">{{cite journal|last1=Nomikos|first1=John|title=Terrorism, Media, and Intelligence in Greece: Capturing the 17 November Group|journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence|date=2007|volume=20|issue=1|pages=65–78|doi=10.1080/08850600600888896|s2cid=154622005}}</ref>{{rp|67}} 17N's repeated claims of responsibility were ignored until 25 December 1976, when it subsequently murdered the former Intelligence Chief of the [[Greek Military Police|Greek security police]], Evangelos Mallios,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Roberts |first=Steven V. |date=1976-12-26 |title=One Year Later, the Murder of the C.I.A.'s Chief Officer in Athens Remains a Mystery Without Solid Clu |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/26/archives/one-year-later-the-murder-of-the-cias-chief-officer-in-athens.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203234721/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/26/archives/one-year-later-the-murder-of-the-cias-chief-officer-in-athens.html |archive-date=3 December 2019 |access-date=2021-03-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> convicted of torturing [[Political prisoner|political prisoners]] during the dictatorship, and left "scattered leaflets" at the scene claiming responsibility for the 1975 Welch murder.<ref>"Athens Reports Slaying Of Ex-Police Official", ''The New York Times'', 16 December 1976, p. 7</ref> 17N used two [[M1911 pistol|M1911 pistols]] in these killings.<ref>[http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=18879 Trademark Colt pistol is identified] ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120171110/http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=18879 |date=20 November 2007 }}), ''Kathimerini'', 18 July 2002.</ref>

After their first attack against the CIA station chief, the group tried to get mainstream newspapers to publish their manifesto. Their first proclamation, claiming the murder of Richard Welch, was first sent to ''[[Libération]]'' in [[Paris|Paris, France]].  It was given to the publisher of ''Libération'' via the offices of [[Jean-Paul Sartre]].<ref>[http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main_old.php?id=7103&archive=1 Giotopoulos the son of renowned Greek Trotskyite] ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202859/http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main_old.php?id=7103&archive=1 |date=27 September 2007 }}), ''Cyprus Mail'', 20 July 2002.</ref>

One of their demands was the removal of [[List of American military installations|US military bases]] from Greece. When the Greek Prime Minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] renewed the US base agreement, 17N responded to the perceived betrayal by attempting to assassinate US Master Sergeant Robert Judd, firing five rounds at him while his car was stopped in traffic. They issued a communique after the attack: "American Imperialists, The people do not want you! Take your bases and go!"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pluchinsky |first1=Dennis A. |title=Anti-American Terrorism: From Eisenhower to Trump |date=2020 |publisher=World Scientific Publishing |location=London |page=16}}</ref>

Police suspected the group of using a stolen anti-armor rocket to attack a downtown branch of the American [[Citibank]] in April 1998. The attack caused damage but no injuries, as the warhead did not explode. The rocket was fired by remote control from a private car parked outside the bank on Drossopoulou Street in the downtown district of [[Kypseli, Athens|Kypseli]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hri.org/news/greek/apeen/1998/98-04-08_1.apeen.html|title=Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-04-08|access-date=30 May 2009|archive-date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605082432/http://www.hri.org/news/greek/apeen/1998/98-04-08_1.apeen.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A British defence attaché, Brigadier [[Stephen Saunders (British Army officer)|Stephen Saunders]], was shot and killed on 8 June 2000 by two men on motorbikes as he drove to work in [[Kifissia]], Athens.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-06-08|title=British defence attache shot dead in Athens|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jun/08/1|access-date=2021-03-06|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=24 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224045452/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jun/08/1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-07-28|title=Δίκη Ε.Ο.17Ν - Μέρα 40|url=http://athens.indymedia.org/local/17N/praktika.php?day=40|access-date=2021-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728135904/http://athens.indymedia.org/local/17N/praktika.php?day=40|archive-date=28 July 2011}}</ref>

===Victims===
17N's known murdered (23) and injured victims include:<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ekathimerini.com/6976/article/ekathimerini/news/chronology-of-all-november-17-attacks | publisher = Kathimerini | date=7 August 2002 | title = Chronology of all November 17 attacks | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071120171106/http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=18445 | archive-date = 20 November 2007}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Name || Date ||  Profession || Notes
|-
| [[Richard Welch]]|| 23 December 1975 ||  CIA station chief in Athens. || 
|-
| Evangelos Mallios || 14 December 1976 ||  Police officer who was accused of torturing political prisoners during the period of military junta. ||
|-
| Pantelis Petrou || 16 January 1980 ||  Deputy commander of the Greek police Riot Control Unit [[Units for the Reinstatement of Order|M.A.T]]||
|-
| Sotiris Stamoulis || 16 January 1980 ||  driver of Pantelis Petrou ||
|-
| George Tsantes || 15 November 1983 ||  US Navy Captain, High level executive of JUSMAGG{Joint US Military Advisory Group]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/gtsantes.htm |title=Arlington Cemetery.net George Tsantes |access-date=31 October 2023 |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031151816/https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/gtsantes.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>||
|-
| Nikos Veloutsos || 15 November 1983 ||  driver of George Tsantes ||
|-
| Robert H. Judd || 3 April 1984 ||  US army Master Sergeant. Postal officer for JUSMAGG in Greece ||  wounded in an assassination attempt.
|-
| Christos Matis || 24 December 1984 ||  police guard ||  killed in a bank robbery.
|-
| Nikos Momferatos || 21 February 1985 ||  publisher of the ''[[Apogevmatini]]'' right-wing newspaper ||
|-
| Georgios Roussetis || 21 February 1985 ||  driver of Nikos Momferatos ||
|-
| Nikolaos Georgakopoulos || 26 November 1985 ||  Riot police officer ||  killed in bus bombing.
|-
| Dimitrios Aggelopoulos || 8 April 1986 ||  President of the board of Halyvourgiki S.A. || 
|-
| Zacharias Kapsalakis || 4 February 1987 ||  doctor and clinic owner ||  shot in the legs.
|-
| Alexander Athanasiadis || 1 March 1988 ||  industrialist ||
|-
| [[William Nordeen]]|| 28 June 1988 ||  US Navy captain ||  killed by a car bomb.
|-
| Constantinos Androulidakis || 10 January 1989 ||  public prosecutor ||  shot in both legs and died of complications.
|-
| Panayiotis Tarasouleas || 18 January 1989 ||  public prosecutor ||  shot in both legs.
|-
| Giorgos Petsos || 8 May 1989 ||  PASOK MP and Minister ||  injured in his car by a car bomb.
|-
| [[Pavlos Bakoyannis]]|| 26 September 1989 ||  [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] MP || shot and killed outside his office over alleged links to [[George Koskotas]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Montalbano|first=William|date=1989-09-27|title=Greek Scandal Turns Deadly as Terrorists Gun Down Lawmaker|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-27-mn-142-story.html|access-date=2021-03-05|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307143218/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-27-mn-142-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| Ronald O. Stewart || 13 March 1991 ||  US Air Force Staff Sergeant ||  killed by a bomb planted under his car.
|-
| Deniz Bölükbaşı || 16 June 1991 ||  Turkish Chargé d'Affaires ||  injured by a car bomb.
|-
| Çetin Görgü || 7 October 1991 ||  Turkish Press attaché || 
|-
| Yiannis Varis || 2 November 1991 ||  police officer ||  killed in a missile and hand grenade attack against a riot squad bus
|-
| Athanasios Axarlian || 14 June 1992 ||  student || killed by shrapnel during a rocket attack targeting the limousine of Finance Minister Ioannis Palaiokrassas.
|-
| [[Eleftherios Papadimitriou]] || 21 December 1992 ||  New Democracy party deputy and MP ||  shot in both legs.
|-
| Michael Vranopoulos || 24 January 1994 ||  former governor of the [[National Bank of Greece]]. ||
|-
| Ömer Haluk Sipahioğlu || 4 July 1994 ||  counselor of the Turkish Embassy in Athens. || 
|-
| Kostis Peraticos || 28 May 1997 ||  owner of [[Elefsis Shipyards|Eleusis Shipyards]]. ||Shot by three masked individuals whilst leaving his company offices in [[Piraeus]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=1997-05-29|title=Murder of Costis Peraticos shocks shipping industry {{!}} TradeWinds|url=https://www.tradewindsnews.com/weekly/murder-of-costis-peraticos-shocks-shipping-industry/1-1-249960|access-date=2021-03-11|website=TradeWinds {{!}} Latest shipping and maritime news|language=en|archive-date=18 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918080546/https://www.tradewindsnews.com/weekly/murder-of-costis-peraticos-shocks-shipping-industry/1-1-249960|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2000-06-14|title=A Death in Athens|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB960927207316315213|access-date=2021-03-11|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=26 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126224650/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB960927207316315213|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Stephen Saunders (British Army officer)|Stephen Saunders]] || 8 June 2000 ||  military attaché of the British Embassy in Athens. ||Shot and killed by two assassins on a motorbike whilst on the way to work.
|}

==Trial==
The trial of 19 individuals suspected of involvement with 17N commenced in Athens on 3 March 2003, with Christos Lambrou serving as the lead prosecutor for the Greek state.<ref>[http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=27078 Nov17 trial begins] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120171133/http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=27078 |date=20 November 2007 }}, ''Kathimerini'', 3 March 2003.</ref> 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 8 December, fifteen of the accused, including Giotopoulos and Koufontinas, were found guilty; another four defendants were acquitted for lack of evidence. The convicted members were sentenced on 17 December 2003.<ref>[http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=37570 Deadly 17 November to end its life in prison] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120171137/http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=37570 |date=20 November 2007 }}, ''Kathimerini'', 18 December 2003.</ref> All those convicted defendants appealed.<ref>[http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13160&m=A06&aa=1&eidos=S No TV in 17N trial] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927080717/http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13160&m=A06&aa=1&eidos=S |date=27 September 2007 }}, ''Athens News Agency'', 9 December 2005.</ref> On 3 May 2007, the convictions were upheld.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spyworld-actu.com/spip.php?article4377 |title=Le démantèlement du 17-N n'a pas mis fin au terrorisme en Grèce |author=Kunz, Didier |agency=[[Le Monde]] |work=Spyworld |date=5 May 2007 |access-date=10 January 2009 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716123124/http://www.spyworld-actu.com/spip.php?article4377 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualites/international/europe/20070503.OBS5378/le_chef_dun_groupe_terroristecondamne_a_perpetuite_en_a.html
|access-date=9 January 2009|title=Le chef d'un groupe terroriste condamné à perpétuité en appel|work=NouvelObs.com|date=23 June 2008|language=fr}}</ref>

== Prison ==
In early January 2014, Christodoulos Xyros, one of the imprisoned leaders of the organization, escaped from prison. On 6 January, he failed to report to the police after leaving prison under the condition to report to the police every day, which he did six times in 18 months.<ref>{{cite news|date=8 January 2014|title=Greece fears return of left-wing terrorism|agency=[[Deutsche Welle]]|url=http://www.dw.de/greece-fears-return-of-left-wing-terrorism/a-17347046|url-status=live|access-date=9 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108204318/http://www.dw.de/greece-fears-return-of-left-wing-terrorism/a-17347046|archive-date=8 January 2014}}</ref> He was taken into custody while riding a bicycle in the southern suburb of [[Anavyssos]] in early January 2015.<ref>{{cite news|date=3 January 2015|title=Notorious Greek fugitive arrested on bicycle|agency=AFP|url=https://news.yahoo.com/notorious-greek-terror-fugitive-arrested-173904033.html|url-status=live|access-date=4 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108100337/http://news.yahoo.com/notorious-greek-terror-fugitive-arrested-173904033.html|archive-date=8 January 2015}}</ref>

In 2018 the group's alleged hitman, Dimitris Koufontinas, was moved from Korydallos Prison to a low security agricultural facility after the prison council approved his parole request, citing exemplary behaviour.<ref>{{cite news|title=Greek far-left terrorist moved to minimum security prison |work=WFTV |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.wftv.com/news/greek-farleft-terrorist-moved-to-minimum-security-prison/805148269|url-status=dead|access-date=6 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806180447/https://www.wftv.com/news/greek-farleft-terrorist-moved-to-minimum-security-prison/805148269|archive-date=6 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=10 November 2017|title=Greek terrorist's prison parole sparks global outrage|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/10/greek-terrorist-dimitris-koufodinas-prison-parole-global-outrage|url-status=live|access-date=6 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806181924/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/10/greek-terrorist-dimitris-koufodinas-prison-parole-global-outrage|archive-date=6 August 2018}}</ref>

=== 2021 hunger strike ===
On 8 January 2021, at 63 years of age, Koufontinas entered a [[hunger strike]] with the demand of transfer to [[Korydallos Prison]] after being sent to a high security prison in [[Domokos]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kitsantonis|first=Niki|date=3 March 2021|title=Protests and Vandalism Follow Hit Man's Hunger Strike|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/world/Dimitris-Koufodinas-hunger-strike-protests-greece.html|access-date=3 March 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303204006/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/world/Dimitris-Koufodinas-hunger-strike-protests-greece.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 22 February whilst in intensive care at Lamia Hospital Koufontinas started to reject water and medical care, forcibly removing a [[catheter]] from his arm before the courts issued an order to [[Force-feeding|force feed]] the prisoner a few days later,<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 February 2021|title=Court orders force-feeding of '17. November' convict Koufontinas on hunger & thirst strike|url=https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2021/02/24/koufontinas-force-feeding-court/|access-date=1 March 2021|website=Keep Talking Greece|language=en-US|archive-date=28 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228232043/https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2021/02/24/koufontinas-force-feeding-court/|url-status=live}}</ref> a practice condemned by many, including a Greek union of doctors, as torture.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2021-02-24|title=Greek Prosecutor Calls for Force-Feeding of Convicted Terrorist Koufontinas|url=https://greekreporter.com/2021/02/24/greek-prosecutor-calls-for-force-feeding-of-convicted-terrorist-koufontinas/|access-date=2021-03-09|website=GreekReporter.com|language=en-US|archive-date=2 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302130500/https://greekreporter.com/2021/02/24/greek-prosecutor-calls-for-force-feeding-of-convicted-terrorist-koufontinas/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was reported that on 5 March, Koufontinas had to be resuscitated due to [[kidney failure]].<ref>{{Cite web|agency=AFP |title=Greek Hitman On Hunger Strike Suffers Kidney Failure|url=https://www.barrons.com/news/greek-hitman-on-hunger-strike-suffers-kidney-failure-01614966304|access-date=2021-03-09|website=Barrons |language=en-US|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119102603/https://www.barrons.com/news/greek-hitman-on-hunger-strike-suffers-kidney-failure-01614966304|url-status=live}}</ref> Koufontinas ended his hunger strike on 14 March after 65 days, despite his demands not being met.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-14|title=Convicted Terrorist Koufontinas Ends Hunger Strike|url=https://greekreporter.com/2021/03/14/convicted-terrorist-koufontinas-ends-hunger-strike/|access-date=2021-03-14|website=GreekReporter.com|language=en-US|archive-date=16 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316043623/https://greekreporter.com/2021/03/14/convicted-terrorist-koufontinas-ends-hunger-strike/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[2021 Greek protests|Street demonstrations]] were held in multiple cities across Greece as well as attacks against property has been claimed in support of Koufontinas,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Police disperse Athens demo in support of convict Dimitris Koufontinas' hunger strike|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/police-disperse-athens-demo-in-support-of-convict-dimitris-koufontinas-hunger-strike/vi-BB1e2fM9|access-date=1 March 2021|publisher=MSN |archive-date=24 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524034303/https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/police-disperse-athens-demo-in-support-of-convict-dimitris-koufontinas-hunger-strike/vi-BB1e2fM9|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=3 February 2021|title=Attacks in Solidarity with Hunger Striker Dimitris Koufontinas in Athens, Greece|url=https://www.amwenglish.com/articles/attacks-in-solidarity-with-hunger-striker-dimitris-koufontinas-in-athens-greece/|access-date=1 March 2021|website=AMW English|language=en|archive-date=3 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203053503/https://www.amwenglish.com/articles/attacks-in-solidarity-with-hunger-striker-dimitris-koufontinas-in-athens-greece/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> including a demonstration outside of president [[Katerina Sakellaropoulou|Katerina Sakellaropoulou's]] home and vandalism of buildings belonging to [[Action 24]] TV station and the office of [[Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs (Greece)|Education Minister]] [[Niki Kerameus]] with paint and projectiles by multiple groups of protesters.<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 February 2021|title=Στόχος το σπίτι της Προέδρου της Δημοκρατίας-Πέταξαν τρικάκια και φώναξαν συνθήματα|url=https://gr.euronews.com/2021/02/23/sakelaropouloy-trikakia-spiti-epithesi|access-date=1 March 2021|website=euronews|language=el|archive-date=23 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223223312/https://gr.euronews.com/2021/02/23/sakelaropouloy-trikakia-spiti-epithesi|url-status=live}}</ref> Other left-wing activists have shown support for Koufontinas, including [[Miguel Urbán]], a co-founder of [[Podemos (Spanish political party)|Podemos]], and political filmmaker [[Costa-Gavras]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The situation of Dimitris Koufontinas|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2021-000827_EN.html|access-date=1 March 2021|website=www.europarl.europa.eu|language=en|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301183349/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2021-000827_EN.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><!--{{Note|Expand on the solidarity protest and actions. The problem here is to find acceptable sources for Wikipedia.}}-->

==Theories ==
Some Greek officials considered [[Revolutionary Struggle]] (EA), the group that fired a Chinese-made RPG-7 [[rocket-propelled grenade]] at the U.S. Embassy in Athens in January 2007, to be a spin-off of 17N. However, three self-admitted EA members arrested in April 2010 claimed that they were anarchists—a designation 17N rejected in its proclamations.<ref>[http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1160139 Letter from P. Roupa, N. Maziotis, K. Gournas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121174116/https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1160139 |date=21 January 2011 }}, ''Athens.Indymedia.org'', 29 April 2010.</ref> For many years, leading politicians of the right-wing [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] party, as well as the conservative press, falsely claimed that Prime Minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] was the mastermind behind 17N. Virginia Tsouderou, who became Deputy Foreign Minister in the [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]] government, and journalist Giorgos Karatzaferis (later the founder and leader of a right-wing party, LAOS) claimed that terrorism in Greece was controlled by Papandreist officers of [[Hellenic National Intelligence Service]] (the Greek security and intelligence service), and named Kostas Tsimas (the head of EYP) and Colonel Alexakis as two of the supposed controllers of 17N.<ref>Eleftheros Tipos, 13 December 1989</ref> However, after 17N members were arrested, the only connection between the terrorist organization and [[PASOK]] was the fact that Dimitris Koufontinas was a member of PAMK (''Panellinia Agonistiki Mathitiki Kinisi'', Panhellenic Militant Pupil's Movement), the PASOK militant high school students organization, and had been an admirer of Andreas Papandreou in his late teens.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Canter|first=David V.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Kyc9j3-VjIC&q=Socialist+PAMK+youth+movement&pg=PA104|title=The Faces of Terrorism: Multidisciplinary Perspectives|date=2009-12-17|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-74450-5|language=en}}</ref>

Other writers have also claimed that 17N may have been a tool of foreign secret services. In December 2005, Kleanthis Grivas published an article in ''To Proto Thema'', a Greek Sunday newspaper, in which he accused "Sheepskin", the Greek branch of [[Gladio]], [[NATO]]'s [[stay-behind]] [[Paramilitary|paramilitary organization]] during the [[Cold War]], of the 1975 assassination of Welch as well as of the 2000 assassination of Saunders. This was denied by the [[US State Department]], which responded that "the Greek terrorist organization '17 November' was responsible for both assassinations", and asserted that Grivas' central piece of evidence had been the ''[[Westmoreland Field Manual]]'', which the State Department as well as a Congressional inquiry, had dismissed as a Soviet forgery. The State Department also highlighted the fact that, in the case of Richard Welch, "Grivas bizarrely accuses the CIA of playing a role in the assassination of one of its own senior officials" as well as the Greek government's statements to the effect that the "stay behind" network had been dismantled in 1988.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2006/01/20060120111344atlahtnevel0.3114282.html
|access-date=9 January 2009
|title=Misinformation about 'Gladio/Stay Behind' Networks Resurfaces
|date=20 January 2006
|author=Leventhal, Todd
|publisher=Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State
|archive-date=14 April 2014
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414235705/http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2006/01/20060120111344atlahtnevel0.3114282.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Greece–United Kingdom relations]]
* [[Greece–United States relations]]
* [[Greek junta]], "Regime of the Colonels" (1967-1974)
* [[Metapolitefsi]], transition to democracy in Greece after 1974

* [[Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei]]

* [[Revolutionary Struggle]]
* [[Terrorism in Greece]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite journal |last=Buhayer  |first=Constantine |date=1 September 2002 |title=The UK's Role in Boosting Greek Counter Terrorism Capabilities |journal=[[Jane's Intelligence Review]]}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Kassimeris
 | first = George
 | date = December 2004
 | title = Fighting for revolution? The life and death of Greece's revolutionary organization 17 November 1975–2002
 | journal = Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans
 | volume = 6
 | issue = 3
 | pages = 259–273
 | doi = 10.1080/1461319042000296813
 | s2cid = 154325642
 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Kiesling |first1=John Brady |author-link=John Brady Kiesling |title=Greek Urban Warriors: Resistance and Terrorism 1967–2014 |date=2014 |language=en |isbn=978-960-7269-55-3 |publisher=Lycabettus Press |location=Athens |oclc=907474685  }}

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[[Category:1975 establishments in Greece]]
[[Category:Anti-American sentiment in Europe]]
[[Category:Communist organizations in Greece]]
[[Category:Communist terrorism]]
[[Category:Far-left politics in Greece]]
[[Category:Far-left politics]]
[[Category:History of Greece since 1974]]
[[Category:Left-wing militant groups in Greece]]
[[Category:Organisations designated as terrorist by the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1975]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Greece]]