All six terrorist suspects held for trial
The final two of the six suspected members of Revolutionary Struggle arrested on Sunday were remanded in custody yesterday, as the police gathered more information about how the terrorist group rented apartments in Athens they used as safe houses. A magistrate decided that authorities had gathered enough evidence to warrant Evangelos Stathopoulos and Christoforos Kortesis being held in custody. Stathopoulos denied playing any part in the organization and argued that an injury suffered in a car crash several years ago had left him with serious health problems. He added that between 2000 and 2007 he had to appear at his local police station twice a month after being released on bail following a conviction for another offense. Stathopoulos claimed that he was being persecuted for his political beliefs. Kortesis’s lawyers argued that the charges against him were not specific enough for him to answer. They said that this confirmed there was no evidence to link him to the terrorist group, which had been active since 2003. The magistrate rejected both arguments. Meanwhile, police confirmed that the gang used forged identification cards, found in the car of another suspect, Constantinos Gournas, to rent two apartments in Kypseli, near central Athens. The fifth-story apartments were next to each other. Police only found balaclavas, handcuffs and gloves in one of the apartments. The other property had been emptied four to six months ago, officers believe. They think the gang rented the second apartment so they would not have to worry about neighbors becoming suspicious of their activities. Police continued to search for a property where the group may have hidden their arms and explosives.
