Greek hitman who absconded while on prison leave recaptured riding a bike
Christodoulos Xiros had been serving multiple life sentences for attacks for radical group
A notorious Greek fugitive who absconded while serving a life sentence for acting as a hitman for an extreme left group was caught as he rode a bicycle while armed with a loaded pistol.
Christodoulos Xiros was taken into custody on Saturday in the suburb of Anavyssos just shy of a year following his January 7, 2014 disappearance while on prison leave. He had been serving multiple life sentences for deadly attacks he participated in as a hitman for the November 17 group and had been on a nine-day New Year's break when he disappeared. Police caught him as he rode a bike in the neighbourhood where he had been renting an apartment in recent months.
"He changed his physical appearance, wearing long hair, a goatee, glasses," said the head of Greece's police, Dimitrios Tsaknakis. "He had a pistol on him loaded with 14 bullets."
Xiros, 56, who didn't resist arrest, was handed to anti-terrorism authorities.
Before its breakup in 2002, November 17 was one of Greece's most violent far-left organisations, claiming responsibility for 23 assassinations during its 27-year span, including the 1975 killing of the CIA's Athens station chief, Richard Welch.
Despite November 17's dissolution, Xiros allegedly remained a committed militant and maintained close contacts with fellow jailed radicals.
