The leader of Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party was on Wednesday sentenced to 13 years in jail.
The court also handed Giorgos Roupakias, a self-confessed Golden Dawn member, a life sentence for the 2013 murder of the anti-fascist campaigner and hip-hop artist, Pavlos Fyssas.
Nikos Michaloliakos and six of the party’s former lawmakers including MEP Ioannis Lagos were convicted of “leading a criminal organisation” last week. All but one were sentenced to 13 years in jail on Wednesday.
Eleven other former parliament members were jailed for between five and seven years for being members of a criminal organization.
Greek prosecutors successfully argued that 68 members of Golden Dawn — which entered parliament in 2013 as the country was dealing with a crippling financial crisis — had ordered, or at the very least were aware of, Fyssas’ murder and of various other crimes including the beating of Egyptian fishermen.
They said this made the neo-Nazi populist political party an organised crime outfit.
Arrests will be carried out after the court has heard final arguments for probation considerations.
