N17 head seeks new appeal
The leader of November 17, Alexandros Yotopoulos, who is serving 21 life sentences in jail, said yesterday that he will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights as he believes he is the victim of a «show trial» and «intentional lies.» Yotopoulos read out a statement during the terrorist group’s appeal at a court in Korydallos Prison yesterday but refused to answer the judges’ questions. He denied being the leader of N17 and taking part in any of its deadly attacks. He accused police of fabricating evidence against him and said that his co-defendant Patroklos Tselentis had struck a deal to provide false testimony against Yotopoulos in return for a more lenient sentence. As he read out his seven-page tirade against the authorities, Yotopoulos drew parallels between his trial and the prosecution of French military officer Alfred Dreyfus in 1894 and retired American football player OJ Simpson in 1995. Yotopoulos accused authorities of matching his fingerprints and writing style to N17’s proclamations to suit their case.
