A Greek court on Thursday ruled to imprison the leadership of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party, following their convictions for running the party like a criminal organisation, but granted suspended sentences to five of the party’s 18 former lawmakers, who were convicted of lesser charges.
The ruling came after two weeks of summations by defense lawyers following the prosecutor’s recommendation that all former Golden Dawn lawmakers be allowed to remain free pending appeal.
The party was founded as a neo-Nazi group in the 1980s and rose to prominence during Greece’s financial crisis. It was blamed for planning multiple hate crimes, including brutal street attacks on immigrants and left-wing activists. Eleven former party leaders convicted of simple participation received sentences of between five and seven years.
The decision ends a five-year-long trial involving 68 defendants, dozens of lawyers, and encompassing four cases, including the 2013 fatal stabbing of left-wing Greek rap singer Pavlos Fyssas and physical attacks on Egyptian fishermen and left-wing activists. Fyssa’s killer, Giorgos Roupakias, was also ordered to begin serving his life sentence. Lawyers representing the victims expressed satisfaction with the decision.
