Protest as Greek court set for Golden Dawn verdict

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(7 Oct 2020) Thousands of protesters gathered outside a courthouse in the Greek capital Athens on Wednesday as it was to deliver a landmark verdict in the marathon, five-year-long trial against the country's extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party.
The 68 defendants in the trial include 18 former lawmakers from the party that was founded in the 1980s as a neo-Nazi organization and rose to become Greece's third largest party in parliament during the country's decade-long financial crisis.  
The trial encompasses four cases: the fatal stabbing of Greek rap singer Pavlos Fyssas, attacks on migrant fishermen, attacks on left-wing activists and whether Golden Dawn was operating as a criminal organization.  
Party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and 17 other former parliament members face at least 10 years in prison if convicted of charges of leading or participating in a criminal organization.
Dozens of others on trial, party members and alleged associates, face convictions on charges that range from murder to perjury — most linked to a spate of violent attacks in 2013.
Security is tight for the long-anticipated verdict, with around 2,000 police deployed, as well as a drone and a police helicopter.
The avenue outside the courthouse is closed off to traffic and the building itself blocked off by a string of police buses.
Still, thousands gathered nearby to participate in anti-fascist rallies.
  
At the crux of the case is whether the string of violent attacks can be linked to Golden Dawn's leadership and whether the party was operating as a criminal organization.
The preliminary investigation indicated the party operated as a paramilitary group, with orders handed down from the party leadership to neighborhood organizations and onto assault groups which carried out attacks on migrants that often led to serious injury.
But during the course of the trial, the prosecutor recommended the acquittal of many of the party members for the criminal organization charge on the grounds of lack of evidence.  
Golden Dawn denies any direct link to the attacks and described the trial and charges brought against the party's leadership as an "unprecedented conspiracy" aimed at curbing its rise in popularity.

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