Prosecutor brands Golden Dawn Nazi criminal group
Prosecutor Kyriaki Stefanatou opened her address to the Five-Member Court of Appeals for Felonies, where the second-instance trial of Golden Dawn is under way, by portraying the group as a structured criminal organization rooted in Nazi ideology, not a political party.
“Golden Dawn was a criminal organization. It was not a party. Its participation in elections was a facade,” she said, recounting its founding by Nikos Michaloliakos in the 1980s and its evolution along National Socialist lines.
She highlighted testimony acknowledging the group’s ideological core, including a witness who said, “We were inspired to call it Golden Dawn because we wanted to form a Nazi organization.”
Stefanatou noted Michaloliakos once declared: “Golden Dawn is not a party. It fights for the abolition of parties.” The appeal trial began in June 2022 and involves 42 defendants including former leaders convicted in 2020. The prosecutor will resume her address on Monday.
