N17 convict asks to serve rest of sentence at home

Convicted November 17 terrorist Savvas Xeros was briefly transferred on Tuesday from the high-security Korydallos Prison, where he is serving five life sentences, to a Piraeus court, where he lodged an appeal to continue his punishment under house arrest due to worsening health problems. The court is to issue its decision on June 26.

The 52-year-old’s health has deteriorated significantly since 2002, when a bomb exploded in his hands at the port of Piraeus, prompting a police crackdown that led to the terror group being disbanded. His vision and hearing are problematic and he is said to have symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Left-wing SYRIZA MPs Tasos Kourakis and Vasiliki Katrivanou appeared in court Tuesday as defense witnesses for Xeros, while his lawyer, Spyros Fytrakis, noted that the European Court of Human Rights, in a 2010 ruling, upheld an appeal by Xeros against the quality of medical treatment offered to him at Korydallos.