Judicial officials divided over Koufodinas furlough
An article by the president of the union of judges and prosecutors, Christoforos Sevastidis, backing the granting of a furlough to convicted November 17 terrorist Dimitris Koufodinas, has made waves in judicial circles.
Koufodinas, who is serving multiple life sentences, ended a three-week hunger strike last week after the Supreme Court accepted an appeal filed by its top prosecutor against the rejection of the hitman’s latest request for prison leave, paving the way for a review.
The article, which was published in a professional journal, noted that the hitman should be given leave as other lifers are granted the same privileges. It added that expressing regret for one’s actions is not a prerequisite for eligibility.
Koufodinas’ refusal to express regret for his crimes has been the key argument of relatives of his victims against his being granted the same privileges as other prisoners.
Sevastidis’ article prompted a response by the vice president of the prosecutors’ union, Panagiotis Lymberopoulos, published on kathimerini.gr, who argues that judicial officials should weigh a convict’s behavior when deciding on privileges.
