After it became known that Ilias Kasidiaris and his party, Ellines (Greeks), would like to stand in the parliamentary elections in May, resentment began in Greece. The possible return to parliament of an ex-MP from the right-wing Golden Dawn party (Chrysi Avgi), who was convicted of membership in a criminal organization, was met with clear rejection in politics. It even triggered a dispute between the individual parties in the country. They blamed each other for a resurgence of a far-right party. The left-wing Syriza under ex-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the social democratic party Pasok accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of allowing Kasidiaris, who denies the Holocaust, to campaign from prison for more than two years.
Only the right-wing voters in Greece want to remember the times of the Golden Dawn as an opposition party in parliament. Once led by party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos, Kasidiaris was one of the highest-ranking members of the party and served as press spokesman. In 2012, the 42-year-old caused an international sensation when he poured a glass of water on the representative of the Alliance of the Radical Left on a talk show during the election campaign. He then slapped the female Communist Party representative twice and punched her in the face. A few months later, his MP immunity was lifted to take him to court.
That was by no means the only act that attracted attention from the right-wing extremist politician and his party. She had long occupied the authorities because of Nazi glorification and violent actions against foreigners. After the left-wing musician Pavlos Fyssas was stabbed by members of Golden Dawn in September 2013, there were also police investigations against high-ranking politicians of the party. In addition, Kasidiaris, who has a swastika tattooed on his upper arm, was arrested in 2014 for illegal gun possession and founding a criminal organization. He has been serving a 13.5-year prison sentence since autumn 2020, as have many of his former party colleagues.
Kasidiaris is currently stirring up politics in Greece, campaigning from prison – but now with his own party, which he founded before his arrest in 2020. He regularly speaks up from his cell on Twitter and on his YouTube channel, and even gives telephone interviews.
In order to prevent a far-right party from being re-elected to parliament, the ruling Nea Dimokratia party recently launched a motion to change the law. It should enable the Supreme Court to ban criminal organizations and specifically Elline’s party. The judge and Vice-President of the Supreme Court in charge of the investigation, Christos Tzanerikos, resigned one day before the planned parliamentary vote. Previously, in a public statement, he had spoken of “an unprecedented arrangement for judicial chronology” and described the action as “a direct interference with the functioning of the Supreme Court”. The government, however, denied any interference in the work of the Supreme Court.
A vote was then taken in Parliament last Tuesday. In addition to the conservative Nea Dimokratia, which lost popularity after the devastating train accident with at least 57 dead at the end of February, Pasok voted for it. Syriza described the move as unconstitutional and abstained. The Greek Communist Party (KKE), Mera25 of ex-Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and the right-wing populist Elliniki Lisi voted against. Nevertheless, the amendment received the majority. The decision on the future of Elline’s party is now in the hands of the Supreme Court.
But Kasidiaris has not yet given up. He has appointed Anastasios Kanellopoulos, a retired Supreme Court prosecutor, as party leader. The latter should not easily accept a ban on Ellines by the Supreme Court. After all, he is familiar with the legislation and also comes from a well-known legal family. He has two brothers on the Supreme Court: one is a judge and the other is a vice president. A third brother is a well-known lawyer.
Should the court actually vote to ban Kasidiaris’ party, the Nazi politician could go before the electoral court, the supreme special court – albeit a decision here would only be made after the parliamentary elections. In addition, Ellines could file a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights, reports the news portal “The Toc” and cites unspecified legal sources. And should the Supreme Court in Greece reject Ellines, the imprisoned Kasidiaris could seek judicial “protection.”
A decision is expected by May 5, when Greece’s Supreme Court will name the parties to be allowed to run in the general elections. In addition, it will now be investigated how Kasidiaris spreads news to the public despite the strict ban on mobile phones and the internet in prison.
Sources: APE-MPE, Greek Government Press Release, Kathimerini (1), Kathimerini (2), The Toc, Kathimerini (3), Iefimerida, Enikos
