Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-08-02

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] SOTIRIS KONDYLIS TAKEN TO THE DA

[02] 2500-YEAR-OLD ANCIENT GREEK MARBLE HEAD STOLEN FROM BRITISH MUSEUM

[03] ASE CLOSES AT UNDER 2100 UNITS

[04] HOLDING CONDITIONS OF N17 SUSPECTS LEGAL

[05] INVESTIGATION INTO HOLDING CONDITIONS OF N17 SUSPECTS

[06] N17: "ARIS" CONFESSED

[07] CHARGES FOR N17 PRELIMINARY TESTIMONY LEAKS

[08] NEW N17 SUSPECT ARRESTED

[01] SOTIRIS KONDYLIS TAKEN TO THE DA

Sotiris Kondylis, the latest suspected member of November 17, is being taken to the DA of the Court of Appeals. As announced by the spokesperson of the Greek Police, Sotiris Kondylis who was using the nickname Aris, confessed that he participated in the following criminal acts with other N17 members:

Robbery at the Labor Bank branch in Peristeri, 1990.

Clash with the police in Sepolia, 1991.

Murder of Turkish diplomat, Omer Sepachioglou, in Paleo Faliro, 1994.

Launched rocket against US Embassy in Athens, 1996.

[02] 2500-YEAR-OLD ANCIENT GREEK MARBLE HEAD STOLEN FROM BRITISH MUSEUM

A 2500-year-old ancient Greek marble head worth 38,000 euro, was stolen from the British Museum. This was the second theft of Greek antiquities from the museum in less than two years, as in March 2001, it was revealed that part of the frieze of Apollo Epicure had been stolen. Commenting on the event, the new Director of the British Museum, Mr. Neil McGregor, stated: "Unfortunately all museums are vulnerable to theft, and smaller sculptures are in more danger".

It should be noted that the British Museum had fired the guard to that room, due to cutbacks in the budget, during a time when most Britons insist on their position of not returning the Parthenon Marbels to Greece, with security as the main argument.

Minister of Culture Evaggelos Venizelos asked to be briefed on theft by Mr. McGregor in a letter he sent him, because of the historic and cultural interest the incident for Greece.

[03] ASE CLOSES AT UNDER 2100 UNITS

The ASE closed today with significant losses of 1.26%, falling to 2,097.57 units, while during the session it moved between 2,095.22 and 2,124.07 units. The volume of transactions came to 23.7 million euro, with 40 stocks rising in value, against 233 that fell and 124 that remained at the same level.

[04] HOLDING CONDITIONS OF N17 SUSPECTS LEGAL

The investigation that had been ordered late last night by the Supreme Court DA, E Croustalakis, concerning the holding conditions of the November 17 suspects awaiting trial. Assistant DA of the Court of Piraeus Appeals, Ar. Fragiadakis stated the following on the issue:

The conditions under which the suspects in the terrorism case are being held in the Corydallos Penitentiary, taking into consideration the uniqueness of the case and the necessary security measures enforced, are those foreseen by the Penology Code. Minor deficiencies in the facilities and minor technical problems, due to the repair work in the holding area which took place very recently, will be dealt with in the next few days.

[05] INVESTIGATION INTO HOLDING CONDITIONS OF N17 SUSPECTS

The Corydallos penitentiary will be visited by the DA authorities, in order to investigate the complaints of the suspected leading member of November 17 Alexandros Giotopoulos, concerning the holding conditions of him and the other N17 suspects.

According to his written statement, which was passed on by his attorney, A. Giotopoulos and the other N17 suspects, are held in conditions of total isolation 23 hours a day in their cells, a practice aimed at crushing their personality, while they are only allowed out one hour a day, in a 25-30 square meter courtyard, enclosed by high walls, in which they see nobody.

Giotopoulos also complained about the forbidding of reading newspapers, listening to the radio and watching television, which results in their being completely in the dark about what is going on in the world, something which is in direct violation of the penology code, while he claims that they have even lost track of time, since even their watches have been removed.

"We are forbidden to place telephone calls to our attorneys, even though the penology code allows it. We are not allowed to call our loved ones, even though that too is allowed at specific times of day. They removed our case briefs as soon as we were admitted, and thus, we cannot be informed of our case, briefs that we were allowed to keep while we were being held by the police. They removed our clothes, even our underwear, and gave us prison clothes in order to humiliate us. They dramatically reduced our communication time with our attorneys, while any prisoner can communicate with theirs for 5 hours a day, thus making the preparation of our defense impossible. None of us are allowed to keep notes during our discussions with our attorneys, thus making thorough cooperation between client and attorney impossible. In general we are living in an environment that insults the very value of humans, apart from being illegal. If this situation continues at this degree, our personalities will be crushed and it will make us unable to defend ourselves. Thus there will be no point to talk about a fair trial".

[06] N17: "ARIS" CONFESSED

While still waiting for the official announcement of the charges against him, Sotiris Kondylis, or Aris, seems to have confessed his participation in November 17, while he referred to specific actions in the 90s and poassibly earlier, '86-'87.

[07] CHARGES FOR N17 PRELIMINARY TESTIMONY LEAKS

Criminal charges against whomever is responsible, for the leaking of the preliminary examination testimonies of the accused in the terrorism case, the violation of professional confidentiality and of confidential verbal discussion, were pressed yesterday by the DA of the Court of First Instance, I. Karaiskos.

The criminal charges were pressed after the end of the preliminary investigation, which was carried out by a judicial official, for about two weeks, after the direction of the Head of the DA's office, Sotiris Bayas, to find the responsible parties.

Further investigations into the case are now the responsibility of the Magistrate, who must personalize the charges, since according to DA sources, the perpetrators were supplying the unedited preliminary examination material.

[08] NEW N17 SUSPECT ARRESTED

The counter-terrorism service arrested one more suspected member of November 17, Sotiris Kondylis, a.k.a. Aris, yesterday afternoon. Kondylis is married and a father of two. He was active in politics and syndicates and denies any involvement in the organization thus far. The 41-year-old is expected to be taken to the DA today.

The police authorities had information on Sotiris Kondylis being Aris from Savvas Xeros' and Constantinos Karatsolis' testimonies, and were trying to locate him with the information they had for the past few days.

He is considered to have belonged to the executive sector of the organization, after 1990, and to have participated in the Sepolia clash and the murder of Turkish diplomat O. Sipachioglou. The authorities are expected to announce the official charges against him this afternoon.

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