Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Greece

Overview:  The Greek government continued to be a steadfast and reliable CT partner in 2023.  Greece began issuing biometric national identification cards, deployed new passports with enhanced security features, improved information exchanges and CT cooperation with the United States through the Joint Security Program pilot, and advanced regional cooperation by mentoring Western Balkan countries in their efforts to establish Passenger Information Units (PIUs) while refining operations of its own PIU through active engagement with the U.S. government.

Because of continued terrorist activity, ongoing regional conflicts, and other threats, Greece is vulnerable to potential terrorism within its borders and is a transit point for terrorists further into Europe.  In its November 21 annual report, the National Intelligence Service (EYP) notably underscored the increased risk posed by the systemic use of the internet, social media, and the dark web for terrorist radicalization and recruitment, dissemination of jihadist propaganda, and transfer of illicit funds, including with cryptocurrency.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  There were no successful terrorist attacks in Greece in 2023.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  There was no new legislation enacted.

On November 17, Pola Roupa, a member of the terrorist group Revolutionary Struggle, was conditionally released from prison after serving 13½ years of her 20-year sentence.  Her partner and the leader of Revolutionary Struggle, Nikos Maziotis, was still in prison after three denied release requests in 2023.  Revolutionary Struggle carried out numerous attacks, including one on Embassy Athens in 2007, a car bomb attack on the Athens Stock Exchange in 2009, and the bombing of the Bank of Greece in 2014.

On December 24 the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, approved the extradition of a 30-year-old Moroccan believed to be a member of ISIS.  The individual was arrested in Thessaloniki in 2021 based on an INTERPOL red notice.  A Moroccan prosecutor charged him with forming a criminal organization and carrying out terrorist activities, among other offenses.

Significant 2023 law enforcement actions included the following:

• On March 28 the Hellenic Police in cooperation with the EYP and Mossad announced it had dismantled a planned terrorist attack against a synagogue and a kosher restaurant in Athens.  Police arrested and detained two Pakistani nationals and identified a third Pakistani suspect, who allegedly recruited and instructed them from Iran.

• On November 8 the Greek Antiterrorism Service charged a 39-year-old Egyptian imam for inciting acts of violence and jihad through his social media posts related to the Israel-Gaza War.  The suspect, who has lived in Greece for 10 years, praised the terrorist organization al-Qassam Brigades, a branch of Hamas, and called on Muslims to wage jihad.  Claiming that he called for humanitarian aid and not for violence, the suspect maintained that his actions were misinterpreted.

• On November 13 the Counterterrorism Unit of the Hellenic Police arrested two individuals in the eastern Attica district of Menidi on suspicion of terrorist activities.  One of the individuals had an outstanding arrest warrant for terrorism, supply and transfer of weapons and explosives, and financing the terrorist organization Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C.)  The second individual had previously been arrested in Attica in 2020 for weapons possession.  Both were using forged Greek travel documents.

• On December 18 there was a failed bombing against the headquarters of a special forces police division in the Athens district of Goudi by members of the Armed Proletarian Justice.  The group posted a manifesto on an anarchist site claiming to have acted for “all those who have been murdered, tortured, beaten, raped by the Greek Police,” and specifying that it made warning calls to avoid casualties.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  Greece is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and its Financial Intelligence Unit, the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Counterterrorist Financing and Source of Funds Investigation Authority (Hellenic FIU), is a member of the Egmont Group.

In October the head of AML Authority launched an investigation into individuals suspected of funding Hamas.  According to press, the Authority was investigating hundreds of individuals in Greece for directly financing Hamas or for financing persons linked to the October 7 attack.

Countering Violent Extremism:  In May the Supreme Court upheld a decision to bar the Hellenes party, founded by former-Golden Dawn member Ilias Kasidiaris, from running in parliamentary elections.  The court ruled the Hellenes party was a “successor” to the banned neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.  Kasidiaris instead endorsed the far-right party Spartans ahead of the elections.

International and Regional Cooperation:  Greece is a member of several international bodies, such as the Global Counterterrorism Forum, FATF, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and the Egmont Group.  It shares its counterterrorism experience with its neighbors in the Western Balkans.  Greece has initiated nascent security and CT cooperation with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.