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Greece: Pola Roupa sentenced to life plus 25 years imprisonment

Pola Roupa, a member of Greek urban guerrila group Revolutionary Struggle, has been sentenced to life and 25 years imprisonment over the bomb attack on the Greek National Bank and the offices of the IMF in Athens in April 2014. The attack destroyed the front of the National Bank. Nobody was hurt, as people who conducted the attack took precautions and informed the authorities before the blast, allowing enough time for evacuation.

According to the prosecution, the attack could have been much more damaging if not for the security guard who managed to lower the metal shutters at the Greek National Bank before the evacuation, hence preventing the total collapse of the building. Should the building collapse, it would likely result in the destruction of Greek banking system and massively damage the Greek economy.

Roupa was sentenced despite of the prosecution being unable to prove that she personally took part in the attack. Instead she was convicted as the “leader” of the Revolutionary Struggle and “instigator” to these actions. Her comrade and life partner Nikos Maziotis is already serving 50 years sentence for his part in the attack.

In 2012, Roupa and Maziotis with their then baby son disappeared and went underground after the authorities were forced to grant them a conditional release from 18- month pre-trial detention in another Revolutionary Struggle related case. After their escape, they were both sentenced to 50 years in prison in absentia.

Despite of being on a run, they both remained an active members of Revolutionary Struggle. Maziotis was captured in July 2014. In February 2016, Roupa attempted to free him from jail by a helicopter. This Hollywood style action was unsuccessful as the helicopter pilot realized that he was hired for something illegal and refused his services. Roupa managed to successfully flee the scene, and was finally arrested in January 2017 in her hide-out in the southern suburbs of Athens.

Following her arrest, both Roupa and Maziotis went on hunger and thirst strike in protest of the treatment of their then 6 year old son. After Roupa’s arrest, the child was held under armed guard in the hospital room and the police refused to allow family members or legal representative to visit him. It is unclear whether the child was interrogated during his detention. Eventually, the custody rights to the boy were granted to Roupa’s mother.

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Image: Pola Roupa and Nikos Maziotis, source: Insurrection News

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