Richard Welch
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Richard Skeffington Welch (1929—December 23, 1975), a Harvard educated classicist, was a CIA Station Chief killed by the radical Marxist organization Revolutionary Organization 17 November. He had been stationed in Athens only a few months before he was killed outside his home. He had previously been outed as a CIA agent by a magazine called CounterSpy, edited by Timothy Butz, although a communiqué issued by the group detailed Welch's movements prior to the publication.

Aftermath of Death

Welch's murder led to the passage of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, making it illegal to reveal the name of an agent who has a covert relationship with an American intelligence organization.

By Presidential Order of U.S. President Gerald Ford, Welch was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Pavlos Serifis confessed to participation in the assassination of the C.I.A. station chief. He and Nikos Papanastasiou, as well as the group's alleged mastermind, Alexandros Yiotopoulos were convicted in 2003 for a string of assassinations, car bombings and rocket attacks that stretched over nearly three decades.^[1]. Charges for the Welch murder were not brought because the statute of limitations had expired.

See also

• Metapolitefsi, the period of Greek History when Welch was murdered.

References

1. ^ Greek Court Convicts 15 in 27-Year-Old Terror Group, NY Times December 9, 2003

Sources

• Arlington Cemetery
• Greek Assassins Arrested, Association of Former Intelligence Officers, Weekly Intelligence Notes #31-02 5 August 2002.
• Dirty Work: The CIA in Western Europe, by Philip Agee and Louis Wolf