Suspect’s Sudanese links are probed
Savvas Xeros, the painter of Orthodox religious icons who is believed to have been a central figure in the November 17 terrorist organization, had contacts with Muslim fundamentalists in Sudan, Greek authorities believe. They have information that on one of his three visits to Sudan in the last two years, Xeros managed to spend a considerable amount of time in a camp run by the Muslim Brothers, an Islamist organization from which the Palestinian group Hamas emerged as did leading cadres of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization. Some suspect that he may have had contacts with Al Qaeda as well. Kathimerini yesterday had a photograph of Xeros in white Arab robes and with a white cap, attending a Muslim Brothers ceremony somewhere in Sudan. It remains to be seen whether these contacts between November 17 and Muslim fundamentalists were just that or whether ties were forged between the two sides. So far, however, the Sudanese authorities are said to have been wary in dealing with Greek diplomatic and security personnel who are investigating the issue. Any ties between November 17 and international terrorism would cast a new light on the Greek organization, beyond the leftist ideological slant of their proclamations.
