KKE views N17 crimes as political
The November 17 extreme left-wing terrorists’ crimes were definitely political, but this should not lead to the group being seen in a less negative light, the leader of Greece’s Communist Party (KKE) said yesterday. Ending a long court dispute, the three judges trying 19 suspected N17 members on Friday decided that the killings, bombings and bank robberies the group carried out between 1975 and 2002 were not political acts. As a result, the defendants have no right to trial by jury, and will continue to be judged by the criminal appeals court sitting in Korydallos Prison. But in an interview with NET state television, KKE’s Aleka Papariga said N17 «was a group with political aims, and played a political part.» «However,» she added, «for us to say that the crimes were political does not mean that we idealize or exonerate them. We are in favor of jury courts, and do not think jury members are necessarily more lenient.» KKE has condemned N17 terrorism. Papariga also said she believed the group’s «deep core» will be caught, and claimed N17 was created by the CIA and the Greek secret services.
