Greek police announced a 36-year-old man has been arrested, after being part of a group who threw smoke grenades and splashed red paint on the walls outside Greece’s Parliament House on Tuesday.
The man is a member of the anarchist group Rouvikonas (Rubicon), who assumed responsibility for throwing the smoke grenades and splashing red paint on the walls. In an online post, they said they acted in support of convicted November 17 terrorist Dimitris Koufodinas, with the group threatening to turn streets red if Koufodinas, who is hospitalised for a hunger strike, doesn’t get a seventh furlough from jail.
Greece’s supreme court on Tuesday examined the rejection of the furlough request by the hunger-striking extremist serving multiple life sentences for the killing of 11 people by Greece’s deadliest militant organisation.
Dimitris Koufodinas was a hit man for the November 17 group which killed 23 people from 1975-2000 and has been on hunger strike for more than two weeks over the refusal of his request for a leave of absence from prison. He was moved to intensive care in a hospital in the central city of Volos last week.
There has been a number of vandal attacks on high-profile targets over the last few weeks in support of Koufodinas, with targets including the U.S. ambassador’s home, banks, shops, political offices, and police stations.
On Tuesday there was a Supreme Court hearing, which was to determine whether Koufodinas’ request should be re-examined. It was held behind closed doors and with a heavy police guard.
According to the Associated Press, the supreme court panel hearing the case is expected to issue a decision in the coming days. If it rules to accept the appeal against the denial, the case will be sent back to the Volos court which made the initial judgment for review. The supreme court itself does not rule on whether to grant the furlough.
Koufodinas has vowed to continue his hunger strike “to the end” unless he is granted a new temporary prison leave.
