Outrage as Athens terror charge couple simply vanish

Two suspected members of a Greek terror group have vanished mid-trial, prompting a judicial investigation and the suspension of a police chief.

Nikos Maziotis and his wife, Panagiota Roupa, have been on trial since October along with six other alleged members of Revolutionary Struggle, which allegedly fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the US embassy in Athens in 2007.

The group, which emerged in 2003, has claimed responsibility for numerous bomb attacks in Athens, including one on the stock exchange, as well as planting a massive bomb that failed to explode outside Citibank offices. It also claimed responsibility for severely wounding a riot policeman in a 2009 shooting.

The couple – who admit membership of the group – were arrested in April last year but were released from jail in October after spending the maximum 18 months in pre-trial detention, during which time they claimed they were political prisoners. They had been ordered to appear at a police station in Athens three times a month, but officials said they missed their last two appointments, on 15 June and 1 July.

Public order minister Nikos Dendias has ordered a judicial inquiry and suspended the officer in charge of the station to which they were to report.