Golden Dawn: Prosecutor seeks longer sentence

The prosecutor's appeal concerns the sentences imposed on convicted as leaders of the criminal organization Golden Dawn, as well as those convicted of attempted murder against Egyptian fisherman Abou Sid Embarak.

With regard to those convicted of address of the criminal organization -that is, them Niko Michaloliakos, Ilias Kasidiaris, Christos Pappas, Ioannis Lagos, George Germenis, Ilias Panagiotaros and Artemis Matthaiopoulos– According to reports, the prosecutor states, among other things, in the appeal that:

«The convicted persons exercised complete control over all criminal acts (the murder of Fyssas, attempted murder of Egyptian fishermen, etc.), having formed a complete, automated mechanism, with structure and hierarchy, so that the leadership's objectives could be communicated and immediately carried out by lower-level bodies. Those who were condemned did not need to know the “executor” or give explicit orders, since the executive bodies were replaceable.

For attempted murder In the case against the Egyptian fisherman, Mr. Kostarellos states that the court did not correctly assess the degree of criminal intent of the perpetrators, since:

a) the reasons that led them to commit the crime for which they were convicted were humble, completely submissive to the will of the leaders of the Golden Dawn criminal organization,

b) committed the act without any provocation whatsoever, and

c) their purpose was to kill people as part of a criminal organization.

It should be noted that the attack had been publicly announced by Ioannis Lagos.

Following the appeal lodged by the prosecutor for the specific convicted persons, the court of second instance is not bound by Article 470 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which stipulates that the Court of Appeal cannot impose a heavier sentence on a defendant than that imposed by the court of first instance. Consequently, in the case of leading a criminal organization the 13-year sentence can be extended to 15 years, as in the case of attempted murder.

The prosecutor did not appeal against those convicted as accomplices in the murder of Fyssas, nor against those convicted of membership of a criminal organization, while did not accept the request of the PAME trade unionists to change the charge from grievous bodily harm to attempted murder.

It should be noted that the appeals prosecutor Stelios Kostarellos was also the deputy prosecutor in the Golden Dawn trial.