Serifis walks free on bail
Veteran trade unionist Yiannis Serifis, the 18th and last suspect to be imprisoned last year pending trial in March for membership of the November 17 terrorist group, walked free on New Year’s Eve after paying bail of 30,000 euros. Under the terms of his release – ordered on Monday by a council of senior judges – Serifis, 64, may not leave Attica and must show up at his local police station three times a month. The Council of Appeals Court Judges, which dismissed charges against a 19th N17 suspect, 32-year-old carpenter Avgoustinos Xeros, decided that Serifis should stand trial for group membership and possession of arms and explosives – referring to the weapons found in two N17 Athens safehouses. But, although other suspects allegedly named Serifis as one of the group’s founders, he has not been charged for any specific attack. Upon his release, Serifis, who was arrested in late October, protested his innocence and described his special detention conditions in Korydallos Prison – where all the N17 suspects are held in isolation – as «wretched.»
