Golden Dawn: Trial begins before the Five-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies

Seven years after the start of the first trial for the criminal organization Golden Dawn and almost twenty months after the decision of the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies, the case is now before the Five-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies, which is called upon to irrevocably record the judgment of Justice.

The issue at stake in the trial is whether the aggressive actions of members of the party, which became the third largest parliamentary force in the country in 2012, will be judged, as in the first instance, to have been coordinated, organized, and directed from above with a specific background. In other words, whether the judges« final ruling will accept that the actions of the defendants were not »isolated acts," as they themselves claim, but the result of a criminal Nazi-style structure that selected victims based on specific criteria.

The second instance trial is set to begin at 9 a.m. today, when Court President Sofia Panouzakopoulou will declare the trial open. However, although issues such as the venue and the exemption of the judges from other duties have been resolved, the trial will not be smooth sailing, as there are issues that need to be resolved and requests for postponement that some of the defendants appear to be ready to submit, which will be examined by the court.

The trial was scheduled to take place in the Court of Appeals' Ceremonial Hall by decision of the Minister of Justice, following the consent of the Court of Appeals' leadership at the request of the Civil Action. The Minister's decision greatly facilitates the progress of the trial, which in the first instance did not receive any attention from the political leadership of the Ministry of Justice for its rapid progress. The first trial began on April 20, 2015, in the courtroom of the Korydallos Women's Prison and was completed on October 22, 2020, in the courtroom of the Court of Appeals.

The X-ray of the trial and the possibilities of the final decision

The trial, which is expected to begin today, will be conducted from the beginning, without the court being bound by the verdict of the judges who ruled on the case in the first instance. This means, in practical terms, that all possibilities are open for the defendants. They can expect to be acquitted or to have their sentence reduced if convicted, or at least to have it remain unchanged. Some of those who are not currently in prison due to a suspended sentence handed down by the court of first instance are now facing the possibility of imprisonment.

A total of 50 defendants will stand trial, of whom approximately 40 were sent to prison after the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies issued its decision, which did not grant them a stay of execution on appeal.

Of the 50, seven are the leaders of the organization and face the felony charge of running a criminal organization.

The leadership of the criminal organization, its leader, and former members of parliament are in custody. They are party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and Ilias Kasidiaris, Ioannis Lagos, Christos Pappas, Ilias Panagiotaros, Giorgos Germenis, and Artemis Matthaiopoulos, who have been sentenced to at least 13 years in prison, except for the latter, who has been sentenced to 10 years.

Eleven other former MPs have been convicted of membership of a criminal organization, including Nikos Michaloliakos' wife Eleni Zaroulia, Panagiotis Iliopoulos, Konstantinos Barbarousis, and others, who received initial sentences ranging from 5 to 7 years. The court recognized mitigating circumstances for four of the 11 members of the group.

Along with them, 32 other defendants are on trial for membership in a criminal organization.

Of the 32 people on trial as members of the organization, 21 are facing an additional felony charge of either murder or attempted murder.

The leadership team and five other defendants face a potentially heavier sentence.

For 12 of the defendants, the final outcome of the trial may be unfavorable, as they face the possibility of an increase in the sentences imposed on them in the first instance. This is because the court of second instance for these defendants is not only considering the appeals they themselves filed in the hope of acquittal or a reduction in their sentences, but also the appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor seeking longer sentences.

A few days after the conclusion of the first trial, Appeals Prosecutor Stelios Kostarellos, deputy prosecutor in the first court, appealed the part of the decision concerning the seven members of the management team and the five defendants accused of attempted murder of an Egyptian fisherman, essentially requesting that they be given a heavier sentence.

The prosecutor, stating that the members of the Directorate «exercised complete control over all criminal acts» committed by Golden Dawn, considered that the sentences imposed should be more severe. He also requested longer sentences for the perpetrators of the attack on the Egyptian fishermen, arguing that the court had failed to take into account the degree of their criminal intent, nor the unprovoked nature of their attack, nor their humble motives as subordinates of the leadership.

So, for these 12 defendants, the possibilities are open, but also subject to the court's harsh treatment of them.

Cases being tried

The trial concerns three felonies. The charges relate to the activities of the criminal organization Golden Dawn, in the context of which, according to the first instance ruling, two other felonies were committed.

These are:

• The murder of Pavlos Fyssas late at night on September 17, 2013, by a group of members of the Assault Squad, of the Local Organization of Golden Dawn in Nikaia, who facilitated the organization's executive member Giorgos Roupakias to fatally stab the musician. According to the first instance ruling, the murder was not a random, uncoordinated act, as the defendants claim. It was a «targeted and organized plan of attack against him,» ruled the judges of the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies, who accept that «Pavlos Fyssas was a target of Golden Dawn in the Piraeus area.».

George Roupakias, sentenced in the first instance to life imprisonment and 14 years' imprisonment, and 15 other defendants sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7 to 10 years, are responsible for the murder of the 34-year-old musician.

Among those convicted is Giorgos Patelis, the «cell leader» of Nice.

• The attempted murder of Egyptian fisherman Abouzid Embarak on June 12, 2012, when a commando unit made up of members of the Perama Local Chapter of Golden Dawn broke into the victim's home at dawn and attacked him and other compatriots who were sleeping. The fisherman was seriously injured when he was struck on the head with sticks and clubs.

The three-member Court of Appeals for Felonies sentenced five defendants to temporary imprisonment ranging from seven to ten years.

Among those convicted is Perama cell leader Anastasios Pantazis.

These are the cases that the court will hear alongside its examination of the overall activities of Golden Dawn as a structured and organized group which, for a number of years, as accepted by the court of first instance, has selected targets and victims based on criteria derived from its fascist ideology. Dozens of other crimes, such as the murder of Pakistani worker Shahzat Lukman, the attempted murder of student Dimitris Kousouris, attacks on members of social spaces (Antipnoia, Synergio, etc.) and other actions will be examined by the court, and victims will be given a chance to speak so that all parameters can be weighed before a decision is made on the defendants. .

In the first trial, there was another case of criminal activity involving an attack by members of Golden Dawn on KKE poster hangers on September 12, 2013, in which nine people were injured. The case was brought as attempted murder, but in the first instance ruling, the charge was changed to the misdemeanor of dangerous bodily harm, which was time-barred last September due to the lapse of eight years. Four of the defendants were convicted in this case.

In view of the start of the trial, various bodies, organisations and anti-fascist movements have called for rallies outside the Court of Appeal today, including ADEDY, ESIEA, the Athens Workers' Centre, Teachers' Associations, KEERFA, the Piraeus and Lavrio Workers' Centers, PEME, the Metalworkers' Union, and student organizations.

Tzoulis Viniaratos