GD trial turns to 2012 attack on foreign vendors

Judges in the trial against Golden Dawn on Thursday heard testimony related to an alleged 2012 attack by GD officials on foreign stallholders at an open-air market in Mesolongi, western Greece, over which the defendants were acquitted in 2014.

The key witness is a schoolteacher who took issue with the far-right officials’ actions and has repeatedly testified on the events of that day. The judges saw TV news footage that was never presented in the original trial backing her claims, in which a group of GD officials are seen walking through the market looking for “illegal” sellers, with members of the posse kicking down stalls manned by foreign nationals and using racist language.

Judges also saw MP Constantinos Barbarousis lambasting the police for “dragging their heels in doing their job,” saying that Golden Dawn would do it instead.