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| - A prominent extremist and top hitman for far-left outfit November 17 is in intensive care after a 40-day hunger strike, a source close to the prisoner said Wednesday. Dimitris Koufodinas, 62, was taken to a hospital in the central city of Lamia on Tuesday, the source told AFP. Koufodinas is demanding to be relocated to Korydallos prison in Athens after being transferred to a high security facility in Domokos, central Greece, in December. According to his lawyer Ioanna Kourtovik, Koufodinas' hunger strike since January 8 has caused "major health complications" including muscle atrophy, bleeding gums and failing eyesight. Anarchist groups have staged repeated protests in recent weeks in his support. Opposition parties have accused the government of singling out Koufodinas for harsh treatment. Koufodinas was the main hitman of the far-left Greek extremist organisation November 17 that was dismantled in 2002, and is serving multiple life sentences. November 17 launched dozens of attacks between 1975 and 2000 that killed 23 people, including the CIA station chief in Athens, several prominent Greek businessmen, Turkish diplomats and the British military attache. Nicknamed "Poison Hand" by media and a former amateur beekeeper, Koufodinas has been convicted of 11 killings. His victims included Pavlos Bakoyannis, a lawmaker who was the father of Athens Mayor Costas Bakoyannis and brother-in-law to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. An anarchist icon, Koufodinas in 2014 published an autobiography that sold thousands of copies to the outrage of his victims' families. str-jph/gd
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