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| Head of Greece’s extreme far-right Golden Dawn party Nikos Michaloliakos arrives to testify in the Court of Athens as part of a long-running trial over the party’s activities in which he and several former party legislators are accused of running a criminal organization, in Athens, Wednesday, November 6, 2019 [Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo] |
A Greek court on Thursday rejected requests for prison terms handed to leaders of the far-right Golden Dawn movement to be suspended, paving the way for their arrest, media reported.
The leaders of Golden Dawn, once Greeceโs third most popular party, have been convicted of running a criminal gang linked to hate crimes during the countryโs financial crisis.
Six of its former lawmakers, including its founder Nikos Mihaloliakos, were sentenced to 13 years in prison this month.
A police source said arrests were imminent.
โWe are waiting for the court to send us the relevant documents and arrests will follow within the day,โ the source said.
Most of those convicted have filed appeals.
Mihaloliakos appeared defiant in a brief statement to reporters gathered outside his home. He said he was being targetted by a โdirty juntaโ of politicians and media.
โI am proud, I am being taken to jail for my ideas,โ he said, before striding back into his apartment block. Some supporters present, and members of his family, applauded.
Another top Golden Dawn figure, Ilias Kasidiaris, the partyโs former spokesman turned himself into police, Greek media reported.
REUTERS
