Convicted terrorist Dimitris Koufodinas ends hunger strike after 66 days

Convicted terrorist Dimitris Koufodinas has ended a 66-day hunger strike that left him dangerously ill.

The 63-year-old is serving 11 life sentences for murder, armed robbery and use of firearms and explosives as a leading member of the militant group November 17, whose members remained at large for decades until a botched bomb attack in 2002.

Koufodinas who started a hunger strike in January, is demanding to be moved from a prison in central Greece back to a high-security facility in Athens where he was previously serving his sentence.

In a statement released through his lawyer, Ioanna Kourtovik, Dimitris Koufodinas thanked the “progressive people” who showed solidarity in a “fight against an inhumane power system.”

Supporters of Koufodinas staged a series of arson and vandalism attacks in recent weeks, including targeting the residence of Greece’s President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and the  Greek PM Mitsotakis’ home in Crete.

“There are living social forces who resist arbitrariness, violence and authoritarianism. This gives (us) hope,” Koufodinas said.

Koufodinas also attacked the “governing family that has shown how ruthless it is in debasing the laws and the Constitution,” (referring to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis).

“Before the force of these struggles, I declare that I’m among you, in heart and mind,” he said.

*More on GCT: Convicted terrorist Dimitris Koufodinas denied jail transfer