Nikos Paraskevopoulos

More than 12,000 inmates have been granted early release from prison in the past three years under a law aimed at reducing overcrowding at Greece's penitentiaries, data from the Justice Ministry show.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday that he has asked the head of the Hellenic Police (ELAS) to reduce the number of officers assigned to guard the party's offices by 20 percent, so they can return to neighborhood patrol amid a spike in crime.

Main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis blamed the government for what he described as a rise in violent crime on Monday, referring to a house robbery in which burglars shot a businessman as "the last straw".

Administrators at Greece's universities and technical colleges are being urged to speed up their reports on bullying for a special committee on campus violence that will convene next month under former justice minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos.

The recent reports of lawlessness and violent conduct at Greek universities on Thursday prompted the director of the Athens prosecutor's officer to order an inquiry.

According to reports, the probe will seek to investigate repeated accounts of violence, drug trafficking, robberies and even sexual assaults.

In the wake of reports of a spike in crime on the grounds of universities and at student accommodation complexes, Education Minister Costas Gavroglou has set up a committee of experts to "study issues relating to academic freedom, peace and lawlessness on university grounds."  

Dimitris Koufodinas, a member of the November 17 terrorist organization sentenced to consecutive life terms for his role in 11 assassinations, may be released temporarily on furlough on Thursday.

Koufodinas's previous request for leave had been rejected despite the fact that it was backed by the authorities at Korydallos Prison, where he is serving his sentence.

The Justice Ministry on Wednesday responded to reports that the man accused of stabbing to death 32-year-old tax office worker Theodora Zeberi at Athens's Second Cemetery in the western suburb of Rizoupoli on October 18 had been released from prison in May.

An armed attack against a riot police squad in downtown Athens on Monday evening rekindled the political backlash against the left-led government over its perceived failure to impose law and order, with the main opposition party announcing a series of initiatives to improve security.

Conservative New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday lashed out at Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in a debate in Parliament, blaming his leftist-led coalition for a spike in crime in the capital.

"There is a wild situation of violence and lawlessness, the result of your policies," Mitsotakis declared.