Greek police recapture convicted far-left militant in Athens

ATHENS / AP

Greek police on Thursday recaptured a convicted far-left militant wanted for more than four years after she absconded during her trial on domestic terrorism charges.
Pola Roupa, 48, was arrested during an early morning raid in Athens, police said, while a 25-year-old Greek woman suspected of aiding and sheltering Roupa was also taken into custody.
Roupa was convicted in absentia of participating in the armed anarchist Revolutionary Struggle group, which has carried out a string of bombings and shootings — including firing a rocket at the U.S. Embassy in Athens in 2007 — which claimed no lives.
Because of delays in the court process, Roupa’s pre-trial detention exceeded the maximum 18-month limit, and she was freed on condition of regularly appearing at her local police station. But together with her partner and fellow terrorism suspect, Nikos Maziotis, she vanished in 2012. Maziotis was recaptured in 2014 after a shootout with police in central Athens. Both have admitted involvement with Revolutionary Struggle.
Last year, Roupa was allegedly involved in the hijacking of a helicopter, with which police believe she hoped to fly to the maximum security Korydallos prison, where Maziotis is held, and release him. But the attempt failed after the pilot resisted and the helicopter landed in a rural area far from Athens.