Three terror suspects in custody
Three suspected members of the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire militant anarchist group were in custody yesterday, while a fourth received conditional release following a second day of depositions that saw scuffles break out between supporters of the defendants and riot police outside the city’s main court complex. Myrto Panteloglou, who had been remanded in custody after her testimony on Tuesday, was released yesterday on the condition that she does not leave the country and reports to her local police station every week. Panteloglou claimed to have visited the apartment in Halandri, believed to be the organization’s suspected hideout, only to see Manolis Yiospas, another suspect, with whom she is romantically involved. Yiospas, who also testified on Tuesday, remained in custody yesterday and was joined by his cousin Harilaos Hatzimichelakis and Panayiotis Masouras following their testimonies. All the suspects face a string of eight misdemeanor and criminal charges, including membership of a terrorist organization. Hatzimichelakis, who owns the apartment in Halandri which police raided last week and where an improvised bomb was discovered, reportedly suggested in his testimony that someone else might have planted the device in his home. The device is said to be virtually identical to that used in last week’s bomb blast at the Kolonaki home of prominent main opposition PASOK deputy Louka Katseli and at the Palaio Faliro home of former Deputy Interior Minister Panayiotis Hinofotis in July. Hatzimichelakis said that two other people, including Masouras and one of another six suspected members of the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire being sought by police, have keys to his apartment. Masouras, for his part, admitted to having keys to Hatzimichelakis’s apartment, adding that he had been leaving his scooter outside the property as it was close to a repair shop. As the suspects were being led out of the court complex following their testimonies, a crowd of supporters scuffled with police, resulting in minor injuries to a traffic police officer.
