Michael Kalogirou, Greece’s Justice Minister, has claimed that reports suggesting that prominent “November 17″ (17N) terrorists could get an early release are ”false”.
New provisions in Greece’s penal code came into effect on Monday, and there is fear that some of them could possibly be used by prominent convicted terrorists of ”November 17” to appeal for a conditional release in order to serve their sentences under house arrest.
Under the new law, provided that someone has served at least seventeen years in prison, he or she can apply for an early, conditional release in order to spend the rest of the sentence in his or her home, wearing an electronic tag.
This now applies to all, irrespective of their sentence or the nature of their crime.
This has been seen by many as a chance for prominent 17N members, such as its leader Alexandros Giotopoulos, to appeal for a conditional release.
Commenting on these reports on Monday, Kalogirou said that they are ”false” and they have surfaced in order to be utilized by opposition parties during the pre-election campaign.
The Justice Minister explained that there is a Presidential decree (62/2014) which says that the pilot electronic tagging system cannot be used by prisoners with life sentences. Therefore, the minister added, the new provisions of the penal system do not apply to 17N terrorists.
Kalogirou also said in his statement that the new penal code toughens the imprisonment conditions for terrorists and noted that any request for early release has to be examined by a special judicial council.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
