ATHENS — Greek authorities began a nationwide search Tuesday for a convicted member of the dismantled November 17 group, once the country’s deadliest guerrilla organization, after he failed to report to the police during a prison furlough, fueling fears of a resurgence of political violence.
The inmate, Christodoulos Xiros, 55, was serving multiple life terms at the high-security Korydallos Prison near Athens for a series of deadly attacks carried out by the group, chiefly against Greek, British, and American business and political targets. Fifteen members of the group, which blended Marxist ideals with nationalism, were convicted in 2002 for 23 killings and dozens of bombings over nearly three decades. Xiros, a maker of musical instruments, and two of his brothers were among those jailed.
According to a police spokesman, Xiros was granted a nine-day furlough on Jan. 1 to visit his family in Halkidiki, in northern Greece. He failed to report to a police station Monday, after checking in regularly on the previous days.
“He’s at large, and we’re looking for him, that’s all we can say right now,” said the official, who insisted on customary anonymity, adding that the manhunt was “large, because of the significance of the individual.”
Xiros’s lawyer, Fragiskos Ragousis, said he was not in contact with his client but interpreted his disappearance as “a political escape.” “It is a political decision in line with his beliefs and his opinions about freedom,” he told Greek television.
The Greek news media, which had been focusing on preparations for Greece’s official assumption of the European Union’s rotating six-month presidency Wednesday, swirled with rumors about the whereabouts and intentions of Xiros. Police said security would be tightened as dozens of foreign dignitaries arrive in Athens to attend the festivities.
In a televised exchange with President Karolos Papoulias, Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias described terrorism as “a significant danger” for the country and its fragile economic recovery, saying, “The terrorists’ bullets are essentially targeting the unemployed.”
Amid growing security concerns, authorities said they would review the furlough rights of Greeks serving prison time for terrorism and other severe crimes.
“We will reexamine the legislative framework for the issuing of furloughs and in particular of this particular category of inmates,” Justice Minister Haralambos Athanassiou said in a statement Tuesday.
Xiros is not the only convicted terrorist who is at large after absconding during a furlough. Police are also seeking Nikos Maziotis, the leader of another disbanded guerrilla organization, Revolutionary Struggle. Maziotis, whose leftist group is best known for firing a rocket-propelled grenade at the US Embassy in Athens in 2007, has been unaccounted for since the summer of 2012 when he failed to return from a furlough.
Speculation has been rife about the possible involvement of Maziotis in a new wave of political violence against Greek and foreign political targets.
Last week, gunmen with assault rifles fired on the home of the German ambassador in Athens, but caused no injuries.