N17 suspect denies murder

Koufodinas gave himself up on Thursday

ATHENS, Greece -- The man Greek police say is the second-in-command of the notorious November 17 terror group denies being guilty of any criminal acts, including murder.

But Dimitris Koufodinas, 45, Koufodinas -- the last major suspect sought in connection with the organisation that has killed 23 people since 1975 -- has accepted "political responsibility" for its acts after surrendering to the authorities.

Koufodinas gave himself up on Thursday. He has been directly linked to the murder of British military attache Stephen Saunders in central Athens in June 2000.

On Friday, his lawyer Yianna Kourtovik said in a statement: "He claims the political responsibility for all the actions undertaken by November 17 (N17).

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"He refuses his guilt for actions that are attributed to him, according to the way they are described in the case file."

The statement said Koufodinas joined November 17 because he wanted to create a socialist society.

"The principle which determined his personal path in life was his faith in building a revolutionary movement and his vision for a socialist society," the statement said.

The group is accused of 23 murders

Koufodinas has been described by other N17 suspects as their "hit man organiser."

They said he carried out his own killings and also selected assassins from the group for other killings helping them to plan shootings, bomb attacks and robberies.

He is said to have been involved in 17 killings.

"This has dealt a deadly blow to terrorism in this country," deputy parliament speaker Costas Gitonas said.

Authorities believe Koufodinas acted as the group's recruiter and managed millions of dollars stolen in bank robberies.

They are investigating whether he wrote a statement sent to a Greek newspaper in late July vowing to continue November 17's campaign of violence.

November 17, named after the date of a violent Athens student uprising against the military junta in 1973, emerged in 1975 with the murder of Athens CIA chief Richard Welch.

Saunders: The British defence attache was murdered in 2000

Koufodinas's surrender comes after several weeks of concerted effort by the Greek authorities against November 17.

Since the end of June, police have arrested and charged 15 November 17 suspects.

The breakthrough in tracking down the group came when a bomb exploded prematurely in the hands of suspect Savas Xiros at Athens' port of Piraeus.

The arrested suspects include November 17's alleged founder Alexandros Giotopoulos, who lived in Paris during the 1960s years of student radicalism.