Tuesday, September 29, 2015
After years of violent action on the streets, the leaders of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn are facing charges of directing and participating in a criminal organization. The trial of 69 Golden Dawn suspects began on 20 April 2015 and, following several adjournments, resumes proceedings today, with the testimony of Panayiotis Fyssas, the father of anti-fascist 34-year old rapper Pavlos Fyssas, who was fatally stabbed two years ago by a Golden Dawn member in Athens.
The testimony of Panagiotis Fyssas - as the first witness in the list of 131 witnesses of the prosecution - is expected to take place in the absence of officials of the organization and in light of the latest statements of its leader, Nikos Michaloliakos, on taking "political responsibility" for the murder.
A Criminal Case
"Golden Dawn on Trial" (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, September 2015) written by an expert on Golden Dawn, journalist Dimitris Psarras, is a booklet that examines the Nazi organization rise, the reasons why it took so long for the justice system to tackle Golden Dawn, the organization’s activity after the 2012 elections in parliament and on the streets, and the line of defense it has adopted in the trial. According to Psarras, no special legislation or political intervention was needed for its criminal prosecution, but the mere enforcement of the criminal code and the dozens of case files on the activities of Golden Dawn’s hit squads.
