Greece Mulls New Crackdown on Neo-Nazis
Greek prosecutors asked parliament to remove from immunity nine additional lawmakers from the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.
If parliament grants Thursday’s request, all 18 of the party’s lawmakers in the 300-member parliament will face charges, part of Greece’s widespread crackdown on a party that prosecutors describe as a criminal organization.
Among the nine lawmakers who already have lost immunity is party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos, who has been jailed since October.
Prosecutors also told parliament they intended to file additional charges against the original nine, including for possession of firearms and ammunition.
The crackdown on Golden Dawn followed widespread outrage and protests in Greece in the wake of the Sept. 18 killing of anti-fascist rapper Killah P by a suspected Golden Dawn member.
The request filed by prosecutors described Golden Dawn “a vertically structured organization that operates along military lines and which is inspired by the ideals of national socialism with clear references to [Adolf] Hitler and Nazism,” according to the Kathimerini daily.
Golden Dawn has been accused of being behind dozens of attacks on immigrants in Greece. The party is known for its Nazi swastika-like flag and Holocaust-denying leadership.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30