Korydallos Prison

The US State Department has condemned "in the strongest terms" the transfer of convicted November 17 hitman Dimitris Koufodinas from Attica's high-security Korydallos Prison to an agricultural jail in Volos, central Greece.

The sudden transfer on Friday of convicted November 17 hitman Dimitris Koufodinas from Attica's high-security Korydallos Prison to an agricultural jail in Volos, central Greece, fueled angry reactions from the political opposition and relatives of the disbanded terrorist group's victims.

Dimitris Koufodinas, the convicted hitman of the disbanded Greek terrorist organization November 17 was transferred on Friday morning from Attica's high-security Korydallos Prison to an "agricultural" prison in Volos, central Greece.

The move was carried out following a decision by a transfers committee overseen by the Justice Ministry.

More than a year after a letter bomb sent from Greece exploded at International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Paris, injuring the employee who opened it, French counterterrorism and judicial officials were in Athens recently to discuss the progress of investigations with their Greek counterparts, Kathimerini has learned.

Akis Tsochadzopoulos, a former defense minister convicted in 2013 to 19 years in prison for corruption, stepped out of the Greek capital's Korydallos Prison on Tuesday after being granted early release.

"I am not at my best. I need to take care of myself," the 79-year-old, who was released on the grounds of poor health, told reporters waiting for him outside the prison.

A leading member of the now disbanded terrorist group November 17 returned to Korydallos prison on Thursday morning after a 48-hour furlough.

Dimitris Koufodinas had gone on a hunger strike for almost two weeks because authorities refused to give him a leave of absence from prison.

The US embassy in Athens slammed on Tuesday a decision by Greek prison authorities to grant Dimitris Koufodinas, a convicted hitman of the now defunct November 17 terrorist group, a third 48-hour furlough, following a two-week hunger strike.

"We thoroughly condemn this third furlough granted to a convicted terrorist and murderer," the embassy said in a tweet.

A leading member of November 17, Greece's most deadly guerrilla group, left Korydallos prison on Tuesday morning after being granted his third two-day leave from prison.

Dimitris Koufodinas had gone on a hunger strike for almost two weeks because authorities refused to give him a leave of absence from prison. He was transferred to Nikaia state hospital earlier in the month.

Dimitris Koufontinas, the jailed hitman of the now defunct November 17 terrorist group, was transferred from Korydallos prison to hospital on Thursday, facing health problems following a seven-day hunger strike.

The two convicts serving life - one of them for murder - who escaped last Wednesday were captured late Friday night in the western Athens district of Nea Philadelphia, after a coordinated police operation.