The fight for justice

map of Greece

Heather Saunders wants justice for the murder of her husband, Stephen. She kept silent for months after he was gunned down by the shadowy Greek terrorist group N17 on his way to work at the British Embassy in Athens.

Now she has decided to speak to the BBC documentary programme Correspondent because she fears that his murder will be forgotten.

Not only have they killed my husband, but they have now destroyed me and my entire family.

Heather Saunders

Heather Saunders' home is an old mill house hidden in the folds of the Dorset countryside. She and her husband bought it as a place to retire to - instead she is living out her grief there with their two teenage daughters.

Brigadier Stephen Saunders was the British military attach� in Athens. He was assassinated last June by a shadowy terrorist group called N17 - they followed him on a motorbike as he drove to work, and shot him at point blank range while he was caught in the heavy Athens traffic.

Stephen Saunders - killed last year by N17 group

The following day the newly widowed Heather emerged from the embassy gates to make an extraordinary appeal for witnesses. "I only hope that the people that carried out this cowardly act on an unarmed man on his way to work will realise the total devastation that they have caused."

"Not only have they killed my husband, but they have now destroyed me and my entire family". It was one of those moments which remains in the minds of anyone who saw it, and it had a political impact that is still being felt today.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights

The Saunders killing put Greece's record on terrorism in the spotlight - and Athens' commitment to justice has been on trial ever since.

Edward Stourton

Greece, like every other country in the European Union, was negotiating the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Charter was endorsed by the EU's governments at the Nice Summit just before Christmas, and one of the rights it enshrined was the right to justice.

The Saunders killing put Greece's record on terrorism in the spotlight - and Athens�s commitment to justice has been on trial ever since.

N17 terrorist group logo

N17 is named after the student uprising of November 1973 - it commemorates the day the Greek junta known as the Colonels sent in the tanks to crush the rebellion. The group murdered for the first time in 1975, and has killed 23 people in all.

After each assassination it issues a "proclamation" - a long and rambling justification.

The 'justification' for murder

The early versions of these quasi-manifestos were heavily coloured by Marxist Leninist ideology - they have become more nationalist in tone as the years have gone by.

The proclamation following Brigadier Sounder�s killing said he was chosen because of the Nato campaign in Kosovo.

Not a single person caught

Only Greece has failed to make any kind of progress whatever - not a tiny shred of progress.

James Woolsey CIA Director

Left-wing terrorism was an all too familiar phenomenon in 1970s Europe. What makes Greece stand out is that it still continues there, and in the 26 years during which N17 has operated, not a single person has been caught.

As the former CIA Director James Woolsey told Correspondent, "Every single European country that had a group terrorising its population has long since broken the group. Only Greece has failed to make any kind of progress whatever - not a tiny shred of progress".

Heather Saunders today with Edward Stourton

The sense of frustration about the failure of the Greek authorities is especially felt in Washington.

Five of N17's victims have been staff at the American embassy in Athens. The Americans have poured money into embassy security.

They spend more there than they do at any other embassy in the world - and devoted substantial resources to fostering the anti-terrorist skills of the Greek police.

Failure of Greek Government

But it has not worked. "The US government", Mr Woolsey said, "has provided substantial information in the past to the Greek authorities relating to 17 November.

November 17 group

Founded in 1975 Roots in resistance to former junta Anti-capitalist Opposes Greek links with West Has admitted to 21 killings

"At some points it seemed as if Greek intelligence were working seriously on this. But then work stopped, and from all we've been able to see in this country there hasn't been any progress on this issue for many, many years".

Explanations for this failure go back to the period of the Colonels' rule from 1967 to 1974.

The trauma of dictatorship has left an enduring mark on Greek society; there is a natural fear of any laws which would allow the authorities to intrude too far in peoples' lives, and a residual suspicion of the police and authorities may be one of the factors which explain why witnesses are not willing to come forward.

Brigadier Stephen Saunders

Born: Farnborough, Hants in 1947 Married to Heather Daughters: Nicola, 15 and Catherine, 14 1965: Joined army 1967: Commissioned into Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment 1968-71: Read geography and economics at Bristol University 1986: Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, serving in N. Ireland, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Kuwait 1999: Promoted to Brigadier and appointed defence attach� to the British Embassy in Athens

With the return to democracy PAK gave birth to PASOK, the political party which has held power for 17 of the past 20 years.

But there are those who believe that the links between legitimate politicians and left-wing terrorists which were formed in the days of the Colonels have never been entirely broken.

And that people within Greece's political establishment are protecting those who were once their comrades.

When Correspondent put that to the Greek Justice Minister he dismissed it out of hand.

"So long as there is no evidence", he said, "we cannot accept such accusations".

Since the Saunders killing, the fight against N17 has suddenly become a political priority.

The law on DNA evidence is being re-written, there could soon be a witness protection programme, and Scotland Yard are in Athens helping with the investigation.

But after nine months no arrest has been made and no witness have dared come forward - and Heather Saunders is still waiting for justice.

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