Assault on Pakistani immigrants: Greece prosecutors seeks trial for 70 Golden Dawn members

Published October 17, 2014
A member of the extreme right Golden Dawn party holds a flag bearing their party's logo during an election campaign rally in Athens, in this file picture taken April 21, 2012. — Photo by Reuters
A member of the extreme right Golden Dawn party holds a flag bearing their party's logo during an election campaign rally in Athens, in this file picture taken April 21, 2012. — Photo by Reuters

ATHENS: A Greek public prosecutor has recommended that 70 members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn movement, including 18 deputies elected to the country's parliament in 2012, stand trial, according to a legal source.

Prosecutor Isidoris Dogiakos outlined the order in a 700-page legal document on Thursday, which listed the group's criminal activities including the high-profile murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas, attacks on members of the communist party, and immigrant Pakistani workers in Crete.

Among those who Dogiakos recommends to face trial is the Golden Dawn leader, Nikos Michaloliakos, who was arrested after the killing of Fyssas in September 2013 and has been held in jail ever since.

Dogiakos's year-long investigation began after the murder of Fyssas, a crime which shocked Greece and forced authorities to crack down on Golden Dawn after years of mounting concern about the party's actions.

Members of the fiercely anti-immigrant party were known to patrol the streets, carrying out attacks on foreigners, but had rarely faced action from the authorities.

Founded in the 1980s, the openly xenophobic and anti-Semitic Golden Dawn was for years a semi-clandestine group on the fringes of Greek politics.

But in 2012 the party exploited widespread anger over immigration and austerity reforms prompted by Greece's financial crisis to take 18 seats in parliament.

Dogiakos, in his document, said that a political party which seeks to “achieve its objectives through the use of physical force or weapons is not legal”.

The prosecutor's findings will now be studied by a panel of three judges and a decision is expected within the next two months.

Any subsequent trial could begin next year, according to legal sources.

On Thursday, Greece's justice minister Haralambos Athanasiou said “those who will be judged will receive a fair trial,” amid claims by Golden Dawn supporters that the legal crackdown is politically motivated.

Opinion

Editorial

Rebuilding a dream
Updated 14 Aug, 2024

Rebuilding a dream

"True" independence — and not in the sense of a political slogan — can only be achieved when Pakistan’s children are assured of a better tomorrow.
A general’s arrest
14 Aug, 2024

A general’s arrest

A PAKISTAN Army general who had once seemed all-powerful has been arrested by his own institution for a list of...
No exceptions
14 Aug, 2024

No exceptions

CAREER civil services officer Rashid Mahmood Langrial, who recently became the ninth person to be appointed head of...
School massacre in Gaza
Updated 13 Aug, 2024

School massacre in Gaza

Can Tel Aviv’s assertions that it is ready to discuss a ceasefire really be taken seriously in the aftermath of such bloodbaths?
Bottomless pit
13 Aug, 2024

Bottomless pit

AT a time when the masses are struggling to put two decent meals on the table, the scale of fiscal malfeasance and...
Countering hate in UK
13 Aug, 2024

Countering hate in UK

THE anti-racism counter-protests witnessed across the UK last week brought a moment of relief to the country....