Court expected to announce who will go to jail in GD trial

A court in Athens is to announce on Thursday its ruling on whether convicted defendants in the long-running Golden Dawn trial will be jailed pending an appeal and which ones will have their sentences suspended.

Presiding judge Maria Lepeniotou said the court had completed all issues relating to the requests made on Wednesday and would announce its decision after a short recess.

Earlier the court rejected a call by defendant Ilias Kasidiaris, who faces 13 years imprisonment for his role in Golden Dawn, to call in a former aide to former premier Antonis Samaras for cross examination.

Kasidiaris had alleged there was “illegal government interventions” in the trial.

There was a strong police presence within the courtroom during the session but none of the former MPs.

All the defence lawyers have presented their arguments for the suspension of the clients' sentences pending appeal, in line with the prosecutor's recommendation for all barring Giorgos Roupakias, who has been handed down a life sentence for the murder of Pavlos Fyssas.