Anti-fascist protesters rally in Greece during Golden Dawn appeal trial

A man holds a flag as hundreds of protesters gather outside the courthouse in Athens.
A man holds a flag as hundreds of protesters gather outside the courthouse in Athens. Copyright LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP
Copyright LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP
By AFP with Euronews
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Dozens of members of the neo-Nazi party have appealed their lengthy prison sentences.

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Hundreds of protesters have demonstrated in Athens amid an appeal trial for members of the former neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn.

Dozens of leaders of the far-right party have appealed their long prison sentences for participating in a criminal organisation.

The trial on Wednesday was interrupted by reports of a smoke bomb threat and adjourned until 6 July as anti-fascist demonstrators held banners and chanted slogans outside the court.

Activists have called for tougher sentences to be handed down to Golden Dawn members.

In October 2020, leading members of the party were sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas and the savage beatings of migrants and political opponents.

After a trial lasting more than five years, Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos and nearly 60 other members were also found guilty of participating in a criminal organisation.

Prosecutors had argued that the prison sentences were too lenient and called for the maximum prison term of 15 years for each.

Magda Fyssas, the mother of the murdered rapper, said on Wednesday that she and her family were hoping for "the same result, a conviction".

The Golden Dawn was once Greece's third-largest party following the country's debt crisis in 2010.

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