After 25 days outside prison, Alexandros Giotopoulos—the alleged mastermind behind the November 17 terrorist organization—has been returned to custody. His brief release followed a decision by the Piraeus Court of Appeals approving his fifth successive application for conditional release. But intense domestic and international backlash—including formal expressions of concern from the U.S. State Department and Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs—triggered an immediate judicial chain reaction, culminating in the annulment of that ruling.
A Timeline of Rapid Judicial Developments
On May 21, Giotopoulos’s release was announced. The next day, Konstantinos Tzavellas, Prosecutor General of the Supreme Court of Cassation (Areios Pagos), instructed Deputy Prosecutor Sophocles Logothetis to review both the release application and the appellate court’s decision. On May 25, Logothetis filed an appeal against the Piraeus Court of Appeals’ ruling, prompting the Supreme Court’s Fifth Criminal Division to convene a judicial advisory session on June 5.
Over several days, three senior justices deliberated whether the Prosecutor General’s appeal was legally justified—and whether due process had been observed. On June 15, they upheld the appeal, affirming the Deputy Prosecutor’s reasoning as sound.
The Court’s Reasoning
The Supreme Court justices ruled, first, that Giotopoulos’s case violated Greece’s 2021 law on multiple-life-sentence convicts. That law mandates that anyone sentenced to more than one life term must serve at least 25 years in prison before becoming eligible for conditional release. Giotopoulos was convicted of moral complicity in 17 murders and received 17 concurrent life sentences.
Second, the justices agreed with the Deputy Prosecutor that the Piraeus Court of Appeals’ decision lacked sufficient legal justification. Specifically, it failed to meet statutory requirements for conditional release—including demonstrable remorse and consistent good conduct while incarcerated.
What the 2021 Law Actually Says
The 2021 legislation—the first of its kind incorporated into Greece’s Penal Code—does not guarantee release after 25 years served. Rather, it states that a multiple-life-sentence convict ‘may’ be conditionally released, provided all statutory conditions are met. In other words, even after completing 25 years, eligibility does not equate to automatic release.
Any future application for conditional release by Giotopoulos would not be admissible before July 2027. To succeed, he would need to convincingly demonstrate genuine remorse and sustained good conduct since committing his crimes.