Overview: In 2014, Greece continued to experience intermittent small-scale terrorist attacks such as targeted package bombs or improvised explosive device detonation by domestic anarchist groups. Generally, these attacks did not appear aimed at inflicting bodily harm but rather sought to make a political statement. Overall, Greek government cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism remained strong.

Senior Greek government leaders have emphasized that counterterrorism is one of their top priorities. The MFA has strongly condemned the actions of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and called on the international community to join the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, of which Greece is a member. Greece has pledged to provide ammunition to Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting ISIL. In 2014, Greece also established a special legislative committee which began reviewing and updating its existing legal framework on terrorism to ensure authorities have the right tools in place to take action against foreign terrorist fighters.

2014 Terrorist Incidents: Greece's two largest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, experienced frequent, relatively small-scale anarchist attacks that used inexpensive and unsophisticated incendiary devices against the properties of political figures, party offices, private bank ATMs, ministries and tax offices, and privately-owned vehicles. Terrorist attacks included:

  • On April 26, Revolutionary Struggle claimed responsibility for an April 10 car bomb attack targeting the offices of the IMF and Greek Central Bank.

  • Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei claimed responsibility for sending a parcel bomb containing over one pound of explosives to a police station in Central Greece on April 29. This device malfunctioned and did not detonate.

  • On December 12, an unknown group fired approximately 50 rounds of ammunition at the Israeli Embassy in Athens. This was similar to the attack that targeted the German Ambassador's residence December 30, 2013. The attackers remained at large at year's end.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Article 187A of the Greek Penal Code codifies the terrorism statute. In addition, Article 28(1) of the Greek Constitution subjects Greek citizens to applicable international laws, to include those related to terrorism. Article 28 (2) and (3) subjects Greek citizens to applicable EU Laws, including the EU law against terrorism. As noted above, Greece is presently reviewing and updating its existing legal framework on terrorism to ensure authorities have the right tools in place to take action against foreign terrorist fighters. The Police Directorate for Countering Special Violent Crimes (DAEEV) is responsible for counterterrorism in Greece. DAEEV is proactive and attracts highly motivated and educated young police officers. This unit has demonstrated a high capacity to collect information, but it lacks capacity to use the volume of data it collects and to share it with other services within the Greek police and Coast Guard.

Greece has a weak document system for birth certificates and Greek ID cards, which compromise the integrity of the Greek passports. The national ID card is extremely vulnerable to alteration and photo substitution, and it has not incorporated any new security features such as digitized photo and biometrics. The government is working actively to address this vulnerability.

Christodoulos Xiros, key leader and hit-man for the terrorist organization 17 November, disappeared in January while on furlough from prison.

Nikolaos Maziotis, a lead member of the terrorist organization Revolutionary Struggle, who was convicted in absentia for his participation in this terrorist organization by an Athens appeals court in 2013, was re-captured by police in July 2014. Hellenic Police also arrested Andonis Stamboulos for membership in a terrorist organization, as he was a known associate of Maziotis. At the time of his arrest Stamboulos was carrying plans for an imminent attack on the headquarters of the ruling party and a list of potential high-profile targets.

On October 1, Greek police discovered two locations in Athens and Thessaloniki serving as hideouts for Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei. The trial of 19 suspected members of the group, which began in 2011 and was repeatedly postponed due to work stoppages by judges and judicial postponements, re-commenced on December 4.

In 2014, the Hellenic Police DAEEV directorate arrested at least seven suspected members of the DHKP/C to include the February 10 arrest of senior leader Hussein Tekin.

The porous nature of Greece's borders remained a concern. While Greek border authorities have had success in stemming the flow of illegal migration at the land border with Turkey, their ability to control large-scale illegal migration via sea borders is limited. Recent regional upheavals have intensified illegal migration to and through Greece via the Greek Aegean islands. In September, the antiterrorism assistance program (ATA) provided analytic methodology and threat analysis training to Hellenic Police, while the Hellenic Police and Coast Guard hosted a three-day regional seminar with participants from Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Romania, Spain and the United States. The seminar "Developing Border Protection Management Strategies to Counter Illicit Migration, Trafficking and Terrorist Migration" enhanced the capabilities of law enforcement, Coast Guard, and border control agencies across the Mediterranean.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Greece is a member of the Financial Action Task Force and the Egmont Group, a global association of financial intelligence units. The Foreign Ministry's Sanctions Monitoring Unit is tasked with ensuring that Greece meets its commitments to enforce international sanctions, including terrorism-related sanctions. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which is essentially an autonomous institution, although nominally under the oversight of the Ministry of Finance, received 5,526 suspicious transaction reports through October 31, 2014.

Non-profit organizations are not obliged to file suspicious transaction reports. However, all banks – through which these organizations conduct transactions – are legally obliged to report suspicious transactions of any kind, regardless of the type of entity (for- or not-for profit), and the government may directly monitor such entities if necessary.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Greece engaged constructively on counterterrorism initiatives in international fora and regularly participated in regional information exchange and seminars through such bodies as the UN, the EU, the OSCE, the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center for Combating Trans-Border Crime, and the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

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