Revolutionary Organization 17 November (, ''Epanastatiki Organosi dekaefta Noemvri''), also known as 17N or the 17 November Group, was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

urban guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism, ...

organization. Formed in 1975 and led by

Alexandros Giotopoulos Alexandros Giotopoulos (; born 1944) is a Greek convicted terrorist, currently serving seventeen life sentences plus 25 years imprisonment. He was found guilty in 2003 of leading the Marxist-Leninist Greek urban guerrilla group Revolutionary Orga ...

, 17N conducted an extensive urban guerrilla campaign of left-wing violence against the Greek state, banks, and businesses. The organization committed 103 known armed robberies,

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

s, and

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

attacks, during which 23 people were killed. 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 A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

and the dictatorship known as the

Regime of the Colonels In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

. Their demands have included the removal of American military bases in Greece, the removal of Turkish military forces from

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

and the withdrawal of Greece from

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. The ''Encyclopedia of Terrorism'' describes them as "a durable, lethal and successful group" who evaded authorities for over 25 years.

Attacks

17N's first attack, on 23 December 1975, was against the U.S.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

's station chief in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Richard Welch Richard Skeffington Welch (December 14, 1929 – December 23, 1975) was a career Central Intelligence Agency officer. He was the Chief of Station (COS) in Athens, Greece, when he was assassinated by the Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N ...

. Welch was gunned down outside his residence by three assailants, in front of his wife and driver. 17N's repeated claims of responsibility were ignored until 25 December 1976, when it subsequently murdered the former Intelligence Chief of the Greek security police, Evangelos Mallios, convicted of torturing

political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

during the dictatorship, and left "scattered leaflets" at the scene claiming responsibility for the 1975 Welch murder. 17N used two M1911 pistols in these killings. 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 (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'' in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. It was given to the publisher of ''Libération'' via the offices of

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

. One of their demands was the removal of US military bases from Greece. When the Greek Prime Minister

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and served three terms as Prime minister of Greece, prime minister of Third Hellenic Repu ...

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!" Police suspected the group of using a stolen anti-armor rocket to attack a downtown branch of the American

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

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. A British defence attaché, Brigadier Stephen Saunders, was shot and killed on 8 June 2000 by two men on motorbikes as he drove to work in

Kifissia Kifisia or Kifissia (also Kephisia or Cephissia; , ) is a municipality and one of the most affluent northern suburbs in the Athens agglomeration, Attica, Greece, mainly accessed via Kifissias Avenue, running all the way from central Athens up to ...

, Athens.

Victims

17N's known murdered (23) and injured victims include: {, class="wikitable" ! Name , , Date , , Profession , , Notes , - ,

, , 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 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], , , - , 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 ''Apogevmatini'' (, "Afternoon") was a Greece, Greek newspaper published nationally in Athens. The newspaper was founded by Nasos and Sakis Botsis in 1952. It had a semi-economic liberalism, liberal approach towards the economy and a right-wing p ...

'' 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 New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a type of democracy in Marxism, based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that w ...

MP , , shot and killed outside his office over alleged links to George Koskotas. , - , 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 The National Bank of Greece (NBG; ) is a banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1841 as the newly independent country's first financial institution, it has long been the largest Greek bank, a ...

. , , , - , Ömer Haluk Sipahioğlu , , 4 July 1994 , , counselor of the Turkish Embassy in Athens. , , , - , Kostis Peraticos , , 28 May 1997 , , owner of Eleusis Shipyards. , , Shot by three masked individuals whilst leaving his company offices in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

. , - , 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. 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. All those convicted defendants appealed. On 3 May 2007, the convictions were upheld.

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. He was taken into custody while riding a bicycle in the southern suburb of Anavyssos in early January 2015. 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.

2021 hunger strike

On 8 January 2021, at 63 years of age, Koufontinas entered a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

with the demand of transfer to

Korydallos Prison Korydallos Prison Complex is Greece's largest jail and contains the country's main maximum-security prison (Type B), housing both maximum-security men and women. It is located in Korydallos, Piraeus. Famous detainees include members of the left ...

after being sent to a high security prison in Domokos. On 22 February whilst in intensive care at Lamia Hospital Koufontinas started to reject water and medical care, forcibly removing a

catheter In medicine, a catheter ( ) is a thin tubing (material), tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. ...

from his arm before the courts issued an order to force feed the prisoner a few days later, a practice condemned by many, including a Greek union of doctors, as torture. It was reported that on 5 March, Koufontinas had to be resuscitated due to

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

. Koufontinas ended his hunger strike on 14 March after 65 days, despite his demands not being met.

Street demonstrations A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formati ...

were held in multiple cities across Greece as well as attacks against property has been claimed in support of Koufontinas, including a demonstration outside of president Katerina Sakellaropoulou's home and vandalism of buildings belonging to Action 24 TV station and the office of

Education Minister An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Niki Kerameus Niki Kerameus (, , ) is a Greek lawyer and politician serving as Minister of Labour and Social Security since June 2024. She previously served as Minister for the Interior of the Hellenic Republic from June 2023 to June 2024, appointed by Kyri ...

with paint and projectiles by multiple groups of protesters. Other left-wing activists have shown support for Koufontinas, including Miguel Urbán, a co-founder of Podemos, and political filmmaker

Costa-Gavras Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...

Theories

Some Greek officials considered Revolutionary Struggle (EA), the group that fired a Chinese-made RPG-7

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

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. For many years, leading politicians of the right-wing

party, as well as the conservative press, falsely claimed that Prime Minister

was the mastermind behind 17N. Virginia Tsouderou, who became Deputy Foreign Minister in the

Kyriakos Mitsotakis Kyriakos Mitsotakis (, ; born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician currently serving as the prime minister of Greece since July 2019, except for a month between May and June 2023. Mitsotakis has been president of the New Democracy (Greece), New ...

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. However, after 17N members were arrested, the only connection between the terrorist organization and

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK (; , ), is a social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Greece, political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was Two-party system, one of the two major ...

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. 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 Operation Gladio was the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that were organized by the Western Union (WU; founded in 1948), and subsequently by NATO (formed in 1949) and by the CIA (established in 1947), in c ...

stay-behind A stay-behind operation is one where a country places secret operatives or organizations in its own territory, for use in case of a later enemy occupation. The stay-behind operatives would then form the basis of a resistance movement, and act as ...

paramilitary organization during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, of the 1975 assassination of Welch as well as of the 2000 assassination of Saunders. This was denied by the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

, 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.

Attacks

Victims

Trial

Prison

2021 hunger strike

Theories

See also

References

Further reading