Last defendant testifies over Fyssas murder in Golden Dawn trial

The part of the ongoing trial into Golden Dawn dealing with the September 2013 murder of a 34-year-old musician by a self-professed member of the far-right party ended on Friday with the testimony of the last defendant.

Aristotelis Chrysafitis denied any knowledge of a series of telephone calls made on the night of the killing between the leadership and members of the party's chapter in Nikaia, close to where rapper Pavlos Fyssas was stabbed to death by confessed killer Giorgos Roupakis, calls which the prosecution says shows the involvement of high-ranking party members in the incident.

Under questioning from judges, Chrysafitis dismissed evidence of several calls he made on the night of the killing, including to Nikaia chapter chief Giorgos Patelis, saying that he was a “sociable guy” who liked to talk to his friends and that he had called Patelis to discuss a food handout the following day.

Defendants have given conflicting accounts about the events that unfolded on the night of September 13, 2013, though numerous prosecution witnesses have testified that Fyssas was pursued and separated from his friends by a group of Golden Dawn supporters after watching a soccer game in a local cafe-bar and physically assaulted. Shortly after, Roupakias arrived at the scene of the attack by car and stabbed the 34-year-old singer.

The trial was adjourned until September, when judges will start hearing testimony concerning a brutal attack on a group of Egyptian fishermen while they were asleep in their home in the Piraeus district of Perama in June 2012.

The leadership and dozens of members of Golden Dawn stand accused of constituting a criminal organization that orchestrated violent attacks on political rivals – apart from Fyssas, these also include a group of unionists from the communist-affiliated PAME – and migrants.