ABTTF President Habipoğlu reacts to the release of Golden Dawn leader
ABTTF President Habipoğlu reacted to the release of the leader of the criminal organisation Golden Dawn Mihaloliakos from prison.
"Mihaloliakos' release, taken together with the recent serious threats to the rule of law in our country, has undoubtedly once again deeply shaken the trust in justice in the public conscience and completely contradicts the court decision in 2020," Habipoğlu said in a statement.
In 2020, racist Golden Dawn leader Nikos Mihaloliakos, who was declared a criminal organisation by the court, was conditionally released from prison by court decision. Mihaloliakos, who was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in prison for leading a criminal organisation that carried out bloody acts, will be released with restrictive measures.
According to the court ruling, Mihaloliakos will not be allowed to travel outside the Attica region and will not be allowed to meet with other defendants convicted in the same case.
Although the prosecutor argued for the continuation of Mihaloliakos' detention, the judges decided to release him with restrictive measures.
In 2020, the court found Golden Dawn leader Nikos Mihaloliakos and members Ilias Kasidiaris, Yiannis Lagos, Giorgos Germenis, Ilias Panagiotaros, Panagiotis Iliopoulos and Nikos Papas guilty of leading a criminal organisation and eighteen other defendants guilty of being members of a criminal organisation.
Regarding the issue, Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) said: "The court's decision to release Nikos Mihaloliakos, the leader of the criminal organisation Golden Dawn, despite the prosecutor's objection and the fact that he has no remorse for his actions, is a situation that hurts the public conscience, is worrying and unacceptable for our country Greece. The criminal organisation Golden Dawn had directly targeted our community many times in the recent past and had committed verbal and physical attacks. Before the conference we organised as ABTTF at the European Parliament in Brussels in March 2016, MEPs from the Golden Dawn Party of the time stormed the hall and hurled threats and insults. The release of Mihaloliakos, taken together with the recent serious threats to the rule of law in our country, has undoubtedly once again deeply shaken the trust in justice in the public conscience and completely contradicts the court decision of 2020."
