6 suspected Greek left-wing militants appear before prosecutor, face terror charges

Greek terror suspects appear before prosecutor

ATHENS, Greece — Six people appeared before a Greek prosecutor Monday to be charged with alleged membership of a far-left terrorist group known for a rocket attack on the U.S. embassy in Athens.

Police say the five men and one woman, aged between 30 and 41, are members of Revolutionary Struggle, the most active Greek radical organization since the country’s deadliest group, November 17, was broken in 2002.

The suspects were arrested in Athens and its region Saturday and face terrorism charges. Police said they found proclamations and plans for future attacks in one of the detainees’ homes, but have located no weapons or explosives.

Since it first appeared in 2003, Revolutionary Struggle has bombed banks, government buildings and the Athens Stock Exchange, in three cases causing minor injuries to bystanders. Its most spectacular hit was the 2007 rocket-propelled grenade attack on the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy, which caused minor damage but no injuries.

The U.S. government subsequently offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Revolutionary Struggle members.

The group also shot and severely wounded a riot policeman last year. That attack came during a spike in anarchist and far-left violence that followed the fatal police shooting of an Athens teenager in December 2008 and days of rioting in Greek cities.

Terrorism analyst Mary Bossi said Revolutionary Struggle’s relative openness may have led to its downfall.

“They were not covered by this sense of mystery that was seen with previous organizations,” she told Greece’s private Skai TV. “They said everything in their statements — who they are and what they wanted to achieve.”

The six suspects arrived at the main Athens court complex escorted by anti-terrorist police, and were whisked into the prosecutor’s office. Outside, more than 20 people shouted slogans in support of the six, after anarchist groups called for a showing of solidarity.

Police said the suspects included Nikos Maziotis, 39, a self-described anarchist jailed for three-and-a-half years for planting a small bomb — which did not explode — outside a ministry building in 1997.

Domestic far-left terrorism waned after the eradication of November 17, during a security crackdown ahead of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Since then, Revolutionary Struggle have been the most prominent militants, although since the December 2008 riots two new groups have carried out a string of bomb and gun attacks on symbols of wealth and authority, killing a policeman.

Authorities believe that one, a radical anarchist group called Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire, has been weakened after eight suspected members were arrested in recent months.

Last month, a pipe bomb in Athens killed a 15-year-old Afghan bystander and severely injured his 10-year-old sister. No group has claimed responsibility.

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Associated Press Writer Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report.