Yotopoulos ‘ran November 17’
The activities of November 17 were cold-blooded and mercenary and inspired by Alexandros Yotopoulos, who was the group’s «center of power,» a state prosecutor said in a summation at the appeals trial of convicted N17 members yesterday. Yotopoulos wielded absolute power in the organization, while hit man Dimitris Koufodinas was its «chief of staff,» according to prosecutor Efterpi Koutzamani. She proposed that the court dismiss the appeals against multiple life sentences that have been lodged by Yotopoulos, Koufodinas and another six convicts, including Christodoulos and Vassilis Xeros. Koutzamani dismissed N17’s claims that its murders and attempted murders had been fueled by «political motives.» «Murders that have been executed with premeditation, cold-bloodedness and stealth, and followed by the dishonoring of the victim in the proclamation, cannot have noble motives,» she said. According to Koutzamani, N17 members also made personal profits from their infamous bank robberies. Of some 2.2 million euros netted by N17’s bank robberies, about half was used to fund the group’s activities, while the other half was pocketed by members, the prosecutor said. Most of this money went to Koufodinas, who received a monthly «salary» of between 1,200 and 1,900 euros for his N17 activities, she said. A large proportion of the funds was frittered away by N17 members in coffee shops and nightclubs, according to Koutzamani, who said that Yotopoulos would meet accomplices at such venues to plan attacks. Yotopoulos made all the decisions for the group and wrote the proclamations which were issued after every attack in an attempt to justify his choice of target, she said. Efterpi Koutzamani is due to continue her summation tomorrow.
