World's most elusive terrorists go on trial

Greece’s terrorism trial of the century began in turmoil yesterday when judges ordered a bullet-proof glass cage for defendants to be dismantled because of complaints that it breached their rights. Nineteen suspected members of November 17, formerly one of the world’s most elusive urban guerrilla groups, are accused of charges from murder to armed robbery relating to three decades of violence. Judges struggled to control proceedings in the noisy courtroom in Athens’ Korydallos prison while more than 150 lawyerstried to be heard over the throng of relatives – of the victims and the accused – and hundreds of journalists. Silence finally fell when Dimitris Koufodinas, allegedly the chief November 17 assassin, nicknamed Poison Hand, shouted that he could not hear the judges through the glass. Prosecutors backed the suspect’s complaint and proceedings were halted for several hours while the £1.4m three-sided cage was removed. The case has reinforced Greece’s shaky standing on security before the 2004 Olympics to be hosted in Athens, and touched everyone from the Orthodox priest whose three sons are in the dock to the reclusive Latsis family, billionaires who allegedly bought their way off the hit-list. Full Story