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A Greek court ruled Wednesday that the Greek neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party is a criminal organization and has convicted one of its members of murder.
The trial takes five years and is considered one of the most important in the recent history of the country.
Following the verdict, there have been major protests in Athens, where the police have used tear gas, among other things.
– not surprised
68 members of Golden Dawn have been indicted in the case, including the party’s founder, Nikos Michaloliakos, and several key figures in his immediate circle.
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The Athens court ruled on Wednesday that Michaloliakos and six other key party figures have run a criminal organization. They also found a party member guilty of the murder of Greek rap artist Pavlos Fyssas in 2013, AP reports.
According to the indictment, several violent attacks, many of them in 2013, may be linked to the party. The police claimed, among other things, that the party had a militia that carried out violent attacks against migrants and leftists at the direct order of Michaloliakos and other leaders.
Film director Håvard Bustnes followed the leadership of the far-right Greek party for several years. The result was the documentary “The Cradle of Hate,” which was released in 2018.
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He is not surprised by today’s verdict against the party, which in 2013 was the third largest in the country.
– I think this verdict looks very good and complete, and it is fair, as I see it, it says and continues:
– It must have taken a long time to realize it. As we worked on the documentary, we wondered if we should wait to complete it until the verdict came. Fortunately we did not, because it has been more than two years since the documentary was finished.
About 20,000 anti-fascists had gathered outside the courtroom before the court ruling.
Journalists in Athens announced on Twitter that the situation escalated between them and party supporters after the verdict came out.
Bustnes is also not surprised by protests among supporters.
– The Greece I saw was a very divided Greece. Despite the fact that they are no longer in parliament, they have a large following and it is not the case that the verdict ends it. But I think it’s even more important that they have been convicted and that other right-wing extremists see violence and murder like this punishable in a democracy.
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– You will feel far from Greece
– The verdict ends a traumatic cycle, says Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a statement on the verdict and continues:
– The political dimension of this now, fortunately, has concluded with a verdict in which democracy won and the Nazi party is now banned in parliament.
Amnesty International also helped document many of the attacks and eagerly awaited the current ruling.
The allegations against the Golden Dawn leadership, including the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, reveal a divide that exists not only in Greece, but also elsewhere in Europe and elsewhere, said Amnesty Europe’s head of activities Nils Muiznieks , according to NTB.
Magda Fyssa, the mother of Greek rapper Pavlos Fyssas, who was assassinated in 2013, is celebrating outside the courtroom in Athens after the verdict came out. Photo: Petros Giannakouris / AP / NTB
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“The consequences of this ruling, in what is a symbolic trial against a far-right party with an aggressive attitude towards migrants and human rights, will be felt far beyond the borders of Greece,” he said before it was announced. the verdict.
In “The Cradle of Hate”, Bustnes thematized the rise of nationalism in Greece surrounding three important women of the party.
One of them, Eugenia, is married to former black metal vocalist and then MP Giorgos Germenis, who can be seen assuming “responsibility for the biggest problem for Greeks” by filming himself chasing immigrants and allegedly destroying “illegal” jobs. .
Bustnes agrees that today’s ruling could have a ripple effect in similar settings across Europe. Explain that Golden Dawn gained confidence by finishing in parliament.
– The party sat in parliament, but they were still involved in acts of violence and assassinations. I think the fact that this has been suppressed sends an important signal to other right-wing extremist groups in Europe.
– The verdict has shown that the country’s legal system works. They have had many problems along the way, including a strike between the judges. But when the verdict first came, it is important, Bustnes concludes.
