viewkind4uc1pardfs16 The 40yearold man arrested in Thessaloniki today is a cousin of the alleged leading member of the terrorist organization 17 November, Nikos Papanastasiou.
His name is Anestis Papanastasiou and he is a permanent resident of Thessaloniki for the past few years. According to information, he is a foreign bank employee and comes from Houmniko village in the prefecture of Serres.
Anestis Papanastasiou, 40, who heads the loans department at a branch of HSBC Bank, denied any involvement.
Based on information, his fingerprints were discovered in a 17N hideout and he was in close cooperation with his cousin, two of the Xiros brothers and Dionisis Georgiadis.
The 40yearold man is expected to be transferred to Athens in the next few hours to be questioned by the police.
[02] SECOND 17N ARREST IS LIKELY Another individual from Thessaloniki is expected to be taken in for questioning in relation to the 17 November terrorist organization case.
According to information, he is a psychiatrist around the age of 55.
He is a cousin of Nikos Papanastasiou, who is regarded as a leading 17N member with the code-name Nikitas. Nikos Papanastasiou together with Alexandros Giotopoulos, who is regarded as the group’s mastermind, are the only ones who reject any participati on in the terrorist group. No reference has been made on him in the testimonies taken so far by the arrested terrorist organization members. However, his fingerprint was discovered on two documents found in the group’s Patmos Street hideout in Athens.
The wife of Anestis Papanastasiou was questioned by the police in Thessaloniki, while an investigation is underway in three houses.
Nikos Papanastasiou, 50, was arrested in Athens last July and charged with complicity in the November 1983 assassination of US Navy officer George Tsantes and his driver Nikos Veloutsos, among others.
After his arrest, his lawyer Constantinos Kourkoulos stated that his client had not connection whatsoever with the N17 and that his ideology differed completely from those of the terrorist organisation.
Finally, giving a speech at the Greek-American Institute in Washington, American ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller praised the Greek government for disrupting N17 terrorist organisation.
(10/1/2003 11:23:00 рм)
Terrorism Suspect Charged in Greece
Greek Banker Is Charged With Being a Member of Deadly Nov. 17 Terrorist Group
The Associated Press ATHENS, Greece Jan. 10 –
A Greek banker was charged on Friday with membership in the deadly November 17 terrorist group, a felony that carries a maximum 10-year prison term.
Anestis Papanastasiou, 40, who heads the loans department at a branch of HSBC Bank, denied any involvement.
He is a victim of coincidence, said Costas Kourkoulos, his lawyer.
(Police said Papanastasiou was arrested Thursday after his fingerprint was allegedly discovered in one of two November 17 hideouts uncovered by authorities in Athens.
After a 45-minute hearing with a public prosecutor, Papanastasiou was charged with joining and participating in the terrorist group. He will be formally indicted before an investigation magistrate on Monday.
Papanastasiou was arrested in the northern port of Thessaloniki and flown to Athens under heavy guard. He is married with a newborn child.
The arrest of Papanastasiou brings to 19 the number of people thought to be connected with the terror group. Seventeen of them 16 men and one woman are jailed pending trial on March 3. Another man is out on bail.
Papanastasiou is the cousin of jailed suspect Nikos Papanastasiou, 50, an Athens shopkeeper who faces felony charges of participation in three killings carried out by the terrorist group.)
!!! November 17 is blamed for 23 killings since it first appeared with the 1975 assassination of the CIA station chief in Athens. Its victims include four American officials, two Turkish diplomats and a British brigadier who was their last target in 2000.
Nearly all suspects are charged with multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, bombings and bank robberies. They eluded police for decades but were eventually exposed by a bungled bomb attack in June.
November 17 is named after the anniversary of a bloody 1973 revolt led by students that helped topple a seven-year dictatorship the following year.
