Greek Court rules Golden Dawn leaders not eligible for leniency

The Athens Appeals Court which last week ruled that Far-Right political party Golden Dawn is a criminal organization, on Monday ruled that its leadership is not eligible for leniency.

The seven leaders of Golden Dawnm – Nikos Michaloliakos, Christos Pappas, Artemis Matthaiopoulos, Ilias Panagiotaros, Ilias Kasidiaris, Yiannis Lagos and Giorgos Germenis – face prison terms of 5-15 years for running a criminal organization.

The court found that there were mitigating circumstances for only four former MPs.

Further, there will be no leniency for Giorgos Roupakias for the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, an anti-fascist rapper, and to those tied to the attacks on the Egyptian fishermen and the PAME unionists.

Leaving the courthouse following the verdict last week, Magda Fyssa, the mother of murdered anti-fascist musician Pavlos Fyssas, shouted that “today is a history victory.” She had attended most of the hearing’s 453 sessions. “Pavlos did it. My son!” she screamed with emotion. It was the moment Fyssa had been awaiting for more than five years.

On his part, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday said that he believes “an issue that has hurt the country is now closed. The political part, perhaps the most important one, closed in the elections of July 2019 when Golden Dawn did not enter Parliament.”

His comments were made during an interview with Ta Nea newspaper.

“However, it is also a decision that I believe has implications inside and outside Greece. I would say it was a courageous decision made by the court,” Mitsotakis added.

The sentencing of the members of Golden Dawn who were convicted last week will resume on Tuesday, following a delay- Lagos requested for the recusal of the judges on the bench, which was rejected.