New York Times
Case Against Greek Far-Right Party Draws Critics
European Pressphoto Agency
Three Greek Golden Dawn MPs Freed:
The Golden Dawn lawmakers stormed past journalists — one a hitting a
video camera and another shouting at them — after their unexpected
release on pending criminal charges.
By LIZ ALDERMAN
Published: October 2, 2013
NIKAIA, Greece — For over a year, 30 Kaisareias Street bustled with
activity. Burly, black-clad members of the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party
converted part of the nondescript white building into a headquarters,
holding frequent meetings and fanning out for military-style
neighborhood patrols armed with batons and heavy poles wrapped in the
Greek flag.
Multimedia
Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Ilias Kasidiaris of the Golden Dawn party was released on Wednesday by a court in Athens.
Then, last week, the group disappeared overnight. A regular in the
office, Giorgos Roupakias, was accused of killing an anti-fascist
activist in a crime that shocked the nation, and the government began an
effort to “eradicate” the group, as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras put
it.
But already, serious questions have been raised about the planning and effectiveness of the crackdown,
and whether it may actually boomerang against the government and end up
generating sympathy for Golden Dawn, one of Europe’s most violent
far-right groups.
“If it is not handled properly, you could get a kind of a bounce back of
Golden Dawn,” said George Katrougalos, a constitutional law professor
at the Democritus University of Thrace. “If they appear to be victims of
the establishment, that may broaden their appeal.”
Questions are already being raised about the legality, even constitutionality, of the government’s methods.
On Wednesday, in a surprise decision, a magistrate ordered three
prominent Golden Dawn lawmakers, among 35 people associated with the
party who were arrested in a sweep last Saturday, to be released pending
trial. After more than 17 hours of testimony, one of the men, the
party’s spokesman, Ilias Kasidiaris, strode from the court, called
reporters “bums” and pushed photographers out of his way.
However, a fourth Golden Dawn lawmaker, Yannis Lagos, was remanded to
custody after the judicial authorities deemed that evidence linking him
to criminal activities — including murder, attempted murder and
blackmail — was strong.
The legal wrangling pointed to the rising conviction of the government
and many others here that Golden Dawn has been run less as a political
party than as a mafia. But it also underlined concerns that the
government’s case might be riddled with legal holes and procedural
missteps in the investigation. Golden Dawn’s supporters say the
government is basing its case against party members in large part on
wiretaps that lacked the required judicial approval.
Mr. Samaras has made it clear that he sees no place for Golden Dawn in
the Greek political system. “We must do it within the context of our
democratic Constitution,” he said in a speech in New York this week.
“But we have to go all the way and do whatever it takes.”
Doing so will not be easy. Because the government cannot ban political
parties, it is trying to undermine the group by dismantling its
leadership and cutting its financing. Prosecutors are charging members
with participating in a criminal organization, a move that would
effectively outlaw the group.
In court testimony, the Golden Dawn spokesman, Mr. Kasidiaris, said his
group was the victim of a politically motivated persecution aimed at
discrediting the party before local elections next spring. He and the
others denied the government’s accusations.
Golden Dawn’s popularity has slipped since Mr. Roupakias admitted to the
killing of the activist, Pavlos Fyssas, a Greek rapper whose lyrics
inveighed against rightist extremism. But questions have swirled around
why the government is only now pursuing an organization whose violence
and Nazi ideology have been well documented.
Included in the 31 charges are cases that have been pending for years,
involving murder, extortion and money laundering — none of which were
previously pursued by Mr. Samaras’s government. The Greek ombudsman
cited nearly 300 cases of recent racist violence involving Golden Dawn
members that also received no judicial attention.
“It is obvious that there was an inertia toward Golden Dawn by the state
and other authorities until now,” Mr. Katrougalos, the law professor,
said.
- 1
- 2
No comments:
Post a Comment