Court rejects leniency for Greek neo-Nazi leaders

ATHENS, Greece — A Greek court rejects calls for leniency for the leaders of notorious Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, paving the way for sentences of up to 15 years after a five-year trial.

The court refuses lawyers’ requests to consider mitigating factors when sentencing party founder and long-term leader Nikos Michaloliakos and six other former party lawmakers.

They were convicted last week of crimes that include running a criminal organization.

The latest decision comes on the 76th anniversary of Greece’s liberation from Axis occupation in World War II.

After over five years of hearings, the panel of three judges on Wednesday unanimously labeled the paramilitary party a criminal organization in the trial described as one of the most important in Greece’s political history.

— AFP

People gather outside a courthouse in Athens on October 12, 2020, after a Greek court found the leaders of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn guilty of running a criminal organization. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP)