Court rejects Koufodinas appeal for commuted sentence
A petition for commutation of sentence by convicted terrorist Dimitris Koufodinas on health grounds was rejected by a court in Lamia, central Greece, on Thursday.
According to local media, judges upheld the recommendation of a local prosecutor, who argued that the 62-year-old hitman of the now-defunct November 17 organization put himself in jeopardy by going on a prolonged hunger strike.
Koufodinas’ life is said to hang by a thread as a result of being on hunger strike for nearly 60 days in demand that he be transferred from the maximum-security Domokos prison, near Lamia – where he is currently in hospital – to the capital’s Korydallos penitentiary.
His demands for transfer have been rejected on the grounds that Korydallos is reserved for inmates in pre-trial custody and is not equipped to hold people convicted of serious crimes, like Koufodinas who has been sentenced to 11 life terms plus 25 years for his role as N17’s assassin.
Koufodinas’ legal representatives filed for commutation on Wednesday on the grounds that Koufodinas is at risk of sustaining irreversible damage to his health unless he is released from custody.
They have also requested a review of the decision not to transfer him to Korydallos, an issue that will be discussed by the judicial council of the Lamia first-instance court on Thursday and Friday.
