Greek parliament votes to lift immunity of 11 far-right lawmakers

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Greece’s parliament voted to lift the immunity of 11 far-right lawmakers, local media reported Thursday.

Of the 286 lawmakers present, 285 voted in favor of waiving the immunity of 10 lawmakers with the far-right Spartans party, while one voted against it, said AMNA news agency.

Of the 285 lawmakers who voted to waive the immunity of independent lawmaker Konstantinos Floros, formerly with the Spartans party, 284 were in favor while one was against.

All 11 lawmakers, who took the floor, have rejected allegations that they were directed by Ilias Kassidiaris, a convicted executive of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party, which was banned by the Supreme Court in 2020.

On Oct. 25, Supreme Court Prosecutor Georgia Adilini sent a request to parliament asking permission to summon the lawmakers to appear as suspects who allegedly deceived voters in recent parliamentary elections, said AMNA.

The lawmakers are accused of falsely presenting themselves to voters as ascribing to the values of the Spartans party led by Vasilis Stigas, whose organization and actions meet the criteria outlined under electoral law.

But the prosecutor said they were selected by Kassidiaris and recognized him as their real leader, who directed their actions from prison.

Kassidiaris was convicted in 2020 of forming and running a criminal organization under the guise of a political party.
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