MPs from Greece’s neo-Nazi organisation return to court 18 months after original criminal convictions
The imprisoned protagonists of Greece’s once powerful neo-Nazi
“Since early May there has been a surge of violent incidents against migrants in central Athens,” said Constantinou. “People have been knifed and shot at by hit squads employing tactics that have been similar to those we’ve seen in the past. Greek justice has already found Golden Dawn to be what it is, a criminal organisation. We want its leaders to be given harsher sentences than the 13-year [terms] they’ve already received.
In what would become a blood-soaked reign of terror on the streets of the capital’s poorer neighbourhoods, hit squads commandeered by specially trained party members targeted migrants, trade unionists and leftwing sympathisers. In the marathon five-year trial that followed, Golden Dawn was exposed as a criminal gang that had used the mantle of political legitimacy to terrorise its way into the public consciousness. More than 50 cadres, including almost all of its lawmakers, were found guilty of charges that ranged from murder to illegal possession of weapons. Almost all, including the party’s core leadership, argued they were the victim of political persecution.
But the far right in Greece is far from gone.