Greece to release former neo-Nazi group leader Michaloliakos from prison

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) – A Greek judicial council decided Thursday it would release Nikos Michaloliakos, the former leader of the banned neo-Nazi Golden Dawn political party, on parole.

The judicial council in the central town of Lamia ruled against the recommendations of the public prosecutor, who argued that Michaloliakos showed no remorse for his actions or any change in his beliefs.

He also argued that Michaloliakos in his writings claimed to be imprisoned because of his political beliefs.

The Lamia judicial council, however, disregarded the prosecutors' remarks and ruled that the writings were not illegal.

Michaloliakos will now be released on condition that he remains within the Attica regional unit and appears in person at the local police station. He, however, will not be allowed to meet any other members of the former political party.

The former Golden Dawn leader was convicted in 2020 to 13 years imprisonment by the Athens Court of Appeals.

He was charged with forming and running a criminal organization under the pretext of a political party, along with the group's other senior members, Christos Pappas, Ilias Kasidiaris, Ioannis Lagos, Giorgos Germenis, and Ilias Panagiotaros.

Under Michaloliakos' leadership, Golden Dawn and its members orchestrated a series of violent crimes, including an attack and murder of the leftist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, in 2013.

Michaloliakos is a former member of the nationalist youth organization Ethniki Politiki Enosis (National Political Union), which was led by former military dictator Georgios Papadopoulos, who ruled the country from 1967 to 1974.

- Rise and fall

The Golden Dawn was formed in 1980 but was not registered as a political party until 1993.

Its political breakthrough came in the 2012 elections when it received around 6.92% of the votes, making it Greece's fifth-largest political group and enabling it to enter the parliament for the first time.

It won three seats in the European Parliament (EP) after winning 9.4% of the votes in the 2014 European elections.

However, it was unable to win any seats in 2019, leaving it out of the parliament.

Its rise coincided with the 2008 European economic crisis that saw Greece suffer tremendous recession, job losses, and budget cuts.

Athens eventually needed a bailout from its European Union partners and strict austerity measures.