Ex-GD MP Lagos says charges politically-motivated

European Parliament Member and former Golden Dawn MP Yiannis Lagos has denied accusations of running a criminal organization, claiming that the charges are politically-motivated.

Testifying before an Athens court on Wednesday, Lagos denied any connection to the killing of Pavlos Fyssas, a 34-year-old anti-fascist rapper whose brutal murder by a self-declared GD member in 2013 triggered a crackdown on the neo-Nazi party.

Lagos, who has been identified as the former head of Golden Dawn’s local chapters in Nikaia, Perama and Piraeus, is a key witness in the case as he was allegedly contacted by central defendants after the fatal stabbing of Fyssas.

During his testimony, Lagos described the killing as a “tragic incident,” adding however that text messages sent to his phone after the assassination had been doctored in a way as to incriminate him as well as other GD officials, and to intimidate party supporters.

“I have nothing to account for, I do not accept the charges,” he told the court.