Convicted Golden Dawn member Giorgos Patelis, the man considered responsible for sending a group of Golden Dawn supporters to attack the Greek rapper Pavlos Fyssas on the night when Fyssas was knifed to death, was on Monday released by a parole board after serving one year of his 10-year prison sentence.
The Five-member Appeals Court for Paroles accepted Patelis' petition to be released by majority vote and in accordance with the prosecutor's recommendation that incarceration be replaced by restrictions on his movements, such as the obligation to report to a police station at regular intervals and a ban on leaving the country.
Patelis was last year sentenced to serve 10 years for joining Golden Dawn, which was classed as a criminal organisation, and as an accessory in the murder of the 34-year-old musician in September 2013.
The court's reasoning for his release was that there was little chance that the formerly powerful local Golden Dawn branch member would commit further crimes as his offence was committed for "specific reasons in specific conditions", while he had been a 'model prisoner' throughout his time in jail.
A petition for his release on similar grounds some months ago had been rejected.
Source: ANA
