Greek judges release jailed Holocaust-denying leader of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party

Greek judges on Thursday granted early release to the leader of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, who had been jailed for various crimes, including the murder of an anti-fascist rapper a decade ago.

Nikos Michaloliakos. Photo: AMNA

Nikos Michaloliakos, a 66-year-old mathematician and Holocaust denier, was sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison in 2020 as the presumed head of a criminal organization that targeted immigrants and political opponents.

The crimes tied to the group included the 2013 murders of an anti-fascist rapper and a Pakistani migrant, as well as assaults on Egyptian fishermen and Communist trade unionists.

Under the conditions of his release, Michaloliakos will not be allowed to leave the greater Athens area and must report to his local police station once a month. He is also prohibited from contacting other people sentenced in the case, according to the judicial council of the city of Lamia.

Michaloliakos had been transferred to a rehabilitation center in west Athens in 2022 after contracting Covid-19 and has not been behind bars since then, as reported by the state news agency ANA.

A former officer cadet and supporter of Greek dictator Georgios Papadopoulos, Michaloliakos had previously served time in prison in the late 1970s for involvement in bomb attacks. Despite his imprisonment, he continued to write articles for the Golden Dawn website, claiming his sentence was politically motivated and disputing the evidence against him.

Source: University of Manchester

Golden Dawn, the xenophobic and anti-Semitic organization founded by Michaloliakos, gained traction during Greece's 2010 debt crisis, capitalizing on public anger over immigration and austerity measures. It entered parliament for the first time in 2012 and at its peak, was the country’s third largest party.

While Golden Dawn has declined in influence, it still maintains a significant following among Greek voters. Last year, the party's former spokesman, Ilias Kasidiaris, who is also serving a 13-and-a-half-year sentence, endorsed a new party called the Spartans in national elections. The Spartans garnered over 240,000 votes and won 12 seats in parliament, with their leader publicly acknowledging Kasidiaris for contributing to their success.

Source: AFP & https://neoskosmos.com/en/2024/05/03/news/jailed-greek-neo-nazi-leader-released-by-judges/