Neo- Nazi party is criminal, court rules

A Greek court ruled Wednesday that the neo-nazi party Golden Dawn is a criminal group in a decision that closes a five-year trial.

Golden Dawn came to prominence during Greece’s economic crisis, espousing xenophobic rhetoric and displaying Nazi- like symbols, fuelled by acute dissatisfaction over unemployment, poverty and migration.

It became Greece’s third most popular party but started to lose ground in 2013 after a supporter was arrested for the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, a rapper and leftist activist, who was chased down and stabbed to death in a suburb of Athens.

A crowd of around 20,000 people, who gathered outside the Athens appeals court, cheered when the verdict was handed down. There were 68 defendants on trial, including 18 former Golden Dawn MPS.

The court ruled that seven of them, including the party’s head, Nikos Michaloliakos, shown, were guilty of leading a criminal organization.