Golden Dawn sentencing hearing to resume Friday
An Athens appeals court discussing the sentencing of the members of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn who were convicted on Wednesday for running or participating in a criminal gang will restart on Friday, after concluding a lengthy session on Thursday.
The court adjourned for 11 a.m. on Friday, when the session will start with the lawyers for the defense presenting possible reasons for leniency for their clients.
The court will announce the decision on any mitigating circumstances on Friday and will then procees with the sentencing, though the final decision on the sentences and who will be sent to prison will most likely be issued on Monday.
In a seminal ruling on Wednesday, the court ruled that of the 18 former party lawmakers on trial, seven, including party leader Nikos Michaloliakos, were guilty of leading a criminal organization and face between five and 15 years in prison.
The other 11 were deemed guilty of participating in a criminal organization, a charge that carries a potential sentence of five to 10 years.
Giorgos Roupakias, accused of being a party supporter who delivered the fatal stab wounds to rapper Pavlos Fyssas in 2013, was found guilty of murder, and possession and use of a weapon, and faces a potential life sentence. Fifteen others – none of them former lawmakers – were convicted as accomplices.
