Conspiracy of the fire cells
Conspiracy of the cells of fire or conspiracy of the cells of fire ( Greek griechυνωμοσία Πυρήνων της Φωτιάς Synomosia Pyrinon tis Fotias ) is a Greek left- wing terrorist group. The organization became known across Europe when it sent letter bombs to Greek politicians and government institutions in France and Germany in early November 2010.
organization
In addition to the “conspiracy of the fire cells”, other terrorist groups with names such as “Volksaktion”, Epanastatikos Agonas (“Revolutionary Struggle”), and Sechta Epanastaton (“Sect of Revolutionaries”) are active in Greece. In the United States, it is classified as a terrorist organization .
Bomb attacks
The group claimed responsibility for several bomb attacks since 2007 on banks and government buildings, on the home of Minister Louka Katseli and branches of foreign companies in Greece.
Parcel bomb attacks in November 2010
Parcel bombs were sent to politicians in several cities in Greece in early November. On November 2, 2010, the post office of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin received a package with explosives addressed to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel , which was defused by bomb experts from the Berlin police. The Greek Ministry of Economic Affairs was specified as the sender. On November 1, 2010, the Greek police intercepted a package bomb addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy .
On November 1st and 2nd, 2010, incendiary devices were sent to several embassies in Athens. The consignments contained black powder that ignited when opened. There was an explosion in the courtyard of the Swiss embassy. A package was also addressed to the German representation. For security reasons, however, the German diplomats no longer accepted parcels from courier services. The Greek police assigned the letter bombs to the "conspiracy of the fire cells". On November 25, a communique was issued in which the organization assumed responsibility for 200 arson and bomb attacks in the past three years.
Bomb attack on December 30, 2010
On December 30, 2010, the Athens Administrative Court was badly damaged by a huge explosion. The explosive device that rocked the center of the Greek capital was attached to a motorcycle parked in front of the administrative court. The "conspiracy of the fire cells" confessed to this attack.
2013
On June 7, 2013, after two warnings were given to the media, a bomb exploded at 4:40 a.m. under the BMW of the head of the Korydallos prison . The conspiracy of the fire cells took responsibility for this.
2014
On April 29, a letter bomb arrived at the Itea police station , which was defused before the detonation and to which the fire cells confessed.
2017
In March 2017, the group confessed to an attempted bomb attack on German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble . Security forces had intercepted an envelope addressed to Schäuble, which contained a so-called lightning bolt mixture, in Berlin. The counterfeit sender was the vice chairman of the Nea Dimokratia , Adonis Georgiadis .
Shootout in Athens 2011
In May 2011, a shooting occurred in Pefki, a northern suburb of Athens, between police officers and a person suspected of being linked to the fire cells. Two police officers and the suspect were wounded. The suspect's fingerprints were found in an apartment in Volos where several members of the fire cells had previously been arrested. A second suspect involved in the shooting escaped.
Arrests and trials
In early December 2010, six alleged members of the group were arrested. During raids in Athens and other cities on January 12, 2011, officials from an anti-terrorist unit arrested four other suspected members of the “fire cell conspiracy”. The trial of nine of the total of 13 suspected terrorists arrested was carried out under high security in the Athens maximum security prison in Korydallos . Seven of the nine defendants, aged between 20 and 31, were sentenced to long prison terms in July 2011 for “membership in a terrorist group” and two were acquitted.
An alleged supporter of the group, Kostas Sakkas, was arrested in December 2010 in connection with the discovery of an arms store of the "conspiracy of the fire cells". He was detained for illicit gun possession and membership in a terrorist organization. He was released in July 2013.
In December 2011 there was an attempted breakout by the Mafia boss Panagiotis Vlastos, who is serving a life sentence for two murders. He was assisted by several imprisoned members of the fire cells.
Individual evidence
- ↑ tagesspiegel.de
- ↑ AFP / tma: Left-wing extremism: Terror process in Greece begins with scandal. In: welt.de . January 18, 2011, accessed October 7, 2018 .
- ↑ merkur.de
- ↑ Left-wing extremists professed to use letter bombs. In: derStandard.at. November 25, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2017 .
- ^ The bomb terror of the Greek autonomists. (No longer available online.) In: Walsroder Zeitung. December 27, 2009, archived from the original on April 2, 2015 ; accessed on March 8, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ state.gov ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. US Department of State
- ↑ A bombshell for Merkel taz from November 2, 2010
- ↑ Terrorists confess to bomb attack in Athens . welt.de , January 5, 2011
- ^ Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei Behind Dafne Bombing. In: greece.greekreporter.com. Retrieved March 8, 2015 .
- ↑ Nikoleta Kalmouki: Conspiracy of Cells of Fire Behind Recent Parcel-Bomb in Police Station - GreekReporter.com. In: greece.greekreporter.com. Retrieved March 8, 2015 .
- ↑ Terror probe sheds light on parcel bombs sent to Schaeuble, IMF . In: Kathimerini (English online edition), March 17, 2017.
- ↑ Dangerous package in the Schäuble Ministry came from Athens . Zeit Online , March 15, 2017.
- ↑ Terror link in shooting probe . ekathimerini.com
- ↑ Greece: Suspected parcel bombers arrested. In: Spiegel Online . January 13, 2011, accessed June 10, 2018 .
- ↑ Terror process in Greece begins with scandal . welt.de , January 17, 2011
- ↑ AFP message ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Stern.de, July 19, 2011
- ↑ Zacharias Zacharakis: Kostas Sakka: Guantánamo in Greece. In: Zeit Online. July 11, 2013, accessed June 1, 2014 .
- ↑ diepresse.com
