Golden Dawn: The Hour of the Prosecutor for the Issuance of a Final Ruling – Anti-Fascist Uprising

A crucial day for the anti-fascist struggle has dawned, as the prosecutor in the second-degree trial of Golden Dawn will present her proposal regarding the neo-Nazi criminal organization.

The countdown for the issuance of a final ruling by the judiciary on Golden Dawn begins today, with the proposal of the prosecutor of the Five-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies, Kyriaki Stefanatou, on the charges.

After nearly 200 hearings that started in June 2022, Prosecutor Stefanatou is expected to take the floor on Friday morning to present the legal opinion she formed after studying the vast material of the case, which is unprecedented for the Greek judiciary.

Never before has an entire parliamentary group and members of a party that even entered Parliament as the third-largest in 2012 faced charges for being a criminal organization. This organization is charged with the murder of Pavlos Fyssas in September 2013, the attempted murder of Egyptian fisherman Abouzeid Embarak in June 2012, and a series of violent incidents, some of which have already been ruled upon by the courts.

Criminal and Legal Significance

The prosecutor’s speech, although not binding for the court’s decision on the 42 defendants, holds significant criminal and legal weight.

With her speech, the prosecutor will highlight issues that are particularly important in her assessment, which will form the basis for deciding on the guilt of the accused and the resulting verdict. It will be interesting to see whether the prosecutor accepts the unanimous first-instance ruling, which deemed Golden Dawn a criminal organization under the guise of a political party, or whether she will follow the position expressed by her colleague in the first trial, who argued that no criminal organization existed, and that the serious crimes charged against Golden Dawn were isolated actions, unconnected to the structured, hierarchical nature of the organization or its Nazi ideological background.

The legal opinion of the prosecutor is also significant for those defendants who are appealing for reduced sentences, as well as for the prosecutor Stelios Kostarellos, who was the deputy prosecutor in the first trial, seeking harsher sentences. The prosecutor’s appeal concerns the sentences of twelve defendants. These include the leadership of the organization—seven former parliamentarians convicted of leading Golden Dawn as a criminal organization—and the five convicted for the attempted murder of Abouzeid Embarak.

The prosecutor seeks increased sentences for Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos and party members Ilias Kasidiaris, Christos Pappas, Ioannis Lagos, Giorgos Germenis, Ilias Panagiotaros (all convicted to at least 13 years in prison), and Artemios Matheopoulos (convicted to 10 years). The prosecutor also seeks increases for the five convicted for the violent attack on the Egyptian fishermen’s house, including the head of the Perama Local Organization.

The Court’s Judgment

The Five-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies is judging a total of 42 defendants. The majority of these individuals were imprisoned by the first-instance court in October 2020. Most are now out of prison, except for life-sentenced Giorgos Roupakias. Ilias Kasidiaris and Ioannis Lagos remain in custody.

The 18-member parliamentary group elected in 2012 by Golden Dawn is also being tried for criminal organization. In addition to the seven convicted for directing the criminal organization, another eleven former parliamentarians are being tried for involvement in the criminal organization. Among these is Nikos Michaloliakos’s wife, Eleni Zaroulia, Panagiotis Iliopoulos, Konstantinos Barbarousis, and others, with sentences ranging from 5 to 7 years.

Also on trial are 24 individuals as members of the criminal organization, many of whom are also charged with the murder of 34-year-old Pavlos Fyssas and the attempted murder of Egyptian fisherman Abouzeid Embarak.

Three Felonies

The prosecutor’s proposal addresses three felonies.

The charges concern the hierarchical structure and violent actions of the Golden Dawn criminal organization. According to the first-instance ruling, these actions involved:

The murder of Pavlos Fyssas on the night of September 17, 2013, by a group of members from the Golden Dawn Local Organization in Nikaia, who facilitated party member Giorgos Roupakias in fatally stabbing the musician. The murder was deemed a “targeted and organized attack” against Fyssas, as he was a target for Golden Dawn in the Piraeus area.
The attempted murder of Egyptian fisherman Abouzeid Embarak on June 12, 2012, when a hit squad from the Perama Local Organization attacked the victim and others sleeping at his home. Embarak was severely injured by blows to his head with batons and sticks.
The first-instance trial sentenced five individuals to prison terms ranging from 7 to 10 years for the attack. Among the convicted is Perama Local Leader Anastasios Pantazis.

The court thoroughly examined the overall action of Golden Dawn as a structured and organized group that selected targets based on Nazi ideological criteria. Crimes such as the murder of Pakistani worker Shahzad Lukman, the attempted murder of student Dimitris Kousouris, and attacks on social spaces (Antipnoia, Synergeio, etc.) were reexamined, all stemming from a criminal organization that targeted victims based on opposition or racial factors.

Antifascist Uprising in the Court of Appeals

Ahead of the prosecutor’s speech, dozens of unions and organizations have called on citizens to gather in the morning at the Court of Appeals.

The mother of Pavlos Fyssas, Magda Fyssa, also issued a call: “I want all of you by my side again,” she says.

Several groups are calling for a large gathering to support the anti-fascist cause.