The head of Greece’s extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party has been jailed pending trial on charges of running a criminal organisation in an investigation into his political party triggered by the killing of a left-wing rapper.
Nikos Michaloliakos, who is a sitting member of the Greek parliament, was remanded in custody in the early hours of this morning after overnight testimony that lasted for more than six hours.
Armed police led him away from the courthouse in handcuffs. His wife and daughter, who are also party members, as well as other Golden Dawn MPs, stood outside the building and shouted words of encouragement to him as he was led away.
"The ridiculous little men, they decided to jail the leader," said party lawmaker Michalis Arvanitis.
Yesterday, the court ordered the release of three party lawmakers and the jailing of a fourth in the same case. All have denied the charges against them.
Mr Michaloliakos and five of his party lawmakers were among 20 people arrested over the weekend in a crackdown against the Nazi-inspired party following the fatal stabbing of rap singer Pavlos Fyssas on September 17th. A man arrested at the scene of the attack identified himself as being involved in Golden Dawn.
The court also ordered Giorgos Patelis, the head of Golden Dawn's local office in the area west of Athens where Mr Fyssas was stabbed, to be remanded in custody.
A sixth party lawmaker, Christos Pappas, who the prosecution has described as Mr Michaloliakos's second in command, is to appear in court for his preliminary hearing later this morning.
The party has vehemently denied any role in the killing.
It is the first time since democracy was restored in Greece in 1974 after a military dictatorship that sitting members of parliament have been arrested and jailed.
The government, which has vowed to eradicate the group, has argued the party has been acting as a criminal organisation rather than a political party.
Golden Dawn, which the government has described as a “Nazi creation”, rose from the margins of Greece’s political scene to become the third most popular party in the country amid its severe financial crisis. It won nearly 7 per cent of the vote and 18 of parliament’s 300 seats in the 2012 general elections.
It has long been blamed for a series of violent attacks, mostly against immigrants. The party denies it is behind any violence.
AP