Searching for a Brother Lost in Albania's Gulag

Grigorios A. Stavrou is a recruit of the Greek intelligence service who gt caught in a web of treachery, and later was caught by Albanian intelligence and executed. His work was about espionage against the regime of Enver Hoxha in Albania. He was last seen by his family on January 25, 1953 when he, together with his family, have escaped from Albania to the safety of Greece. His superiors groomed him for risky missions into Albania. Unbeknownst to him, he was expected to undo some of the damage done by the traitor Kim Philby. Grigorios was executed on a hill overlooking Sarandees in Albania. On September 19, 1991, a solemn ceremony was held in the ornate office of Greek defense minister Ionnis Varvitsiotes. It was intended to honor a fallen soldier whose heroism was formally described for the occasion by the deputy chief of the Greek intelligence service. The minister of defense presided over the ceremony and made brief remarks. He was followed by the ranking cabinet member and his brother, Nikolaos.