The group fears biased reporting may prejudice the trial

The government said it wanted the ban to avoid turning the event into a soap opera.

But the trial judge heard arguments by the 19 defendants that only non-stop, live television coverage could guarantee them a fair trial in what they say is a political prosecution.

The accused already deprived the witnesses of the right to have a father or a husband, let not the state deprive them also of their dignity Christos Lambrou state prosecutor

The radical group is blamed for 23 murders of Greeks and foreigners, including American, British and Turkish diplomats, over nearly three decades.

Presiding judge Michalis Margaritis said he would make a ruling on Thursday.

The case, which began on Monday, is expected to last for months with hundreds of witnesses to be called to give evidence on November 17's alleged killings, bombings and armed robberies.

'Not stars'

The 18 men and one woman in the dock are expected to face life sentences if convicted.

The trial is being held amid tight security

Currently, journalists can watch the trial in the courtroom or on video monitors outside. Tape recordings can be made but not broadcast.

But defendants fear that biased reporting could harm their chances of a fair trial.

"People must learn the truth," said alleged top assassin Dimitris Koufodinas.

Most lawyers representing relatives of the group's victims oppose live TV coverage.

"The accused already deprived the witnesses of the right to have a father or a husband," public prosecutor Christos Lambrou told AFP news agency. "Let not the state deprive them also of their dignity."

Heather Saunders, widow of UK defence attache Stephen Saunders, who was shot dead by the group in June 2000, said television would glorify the accused.

"They are suspects not stars or actors," she said.

Major boost

The trial is being described as the biggest in Greece since the country's former military junta went on trial in 1975.

Correspondents say that allowing broadcast coverage would satisfy the huge public interest in the trial, but opening the proceedings to TV cameras usually requires the consent of all sides.

The arrest of suspected members last year, after nearly three decades of failure, was seen as a major boost to Greece, especially ahead of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

November 17 took its name from the date of a bloody student uprising at Athens Polytechnic against the military dictatorship in 1973.

Its bombing campaign, which began in 1975 with the murder of CIA Athens station chief Richard Welch, went unpunished for decades.