Greek Golden Dawn party leader due in court. -Wednesday's court appearance comes after three MPs from the far-right party are freed pending trial.

Leader and founder of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn is set to appear before court on Wednesday, as part of a crackdown on the group following the murder of an anti-fascist musician.

Nikos Michaloliakos is due to be charged after an examining magistrate has linked Golden Dawn to dozens of cases, including two homicides, three attempted homicides, two robberies and an arson attack against a bank.
If convicted, Michaloliakos faces at least 10 years in prison, alongside other members of his party, including his deputy Christos Pappas, who is set to be charged on Thursday.

"We have a golden opportunity to purge our society of violence," Greek government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told Skai Radio, calling the group "a criminal organisation that tried to cover itself under a political cloak."


Three members freed
Today's court appearance comes after three arrested Golden Dawn members were freed pending their trial on charges of belonging to a criminal group while a fourth member was jailed.

• The party's spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris was released on bail of 50,000 euros and restrictions from leaving the country.

• Ilias Panagiotaros and Nikos Michos were released with travel restrictions while Yannis Lagos was sent to jail pending trial.

All four denied charges against them in a marathon plea session before an investigating magistrate that ended early on Wednesday after more than 18 hours.
Kasidiaris said he was a victim of political persecution.
The surprise decision to free them complicates the government's efforts to clamp down on the party after one of its sympathisers fatally stabbed an anti-fascism rapper last month.

Third most popular party
Golden Dawn was the country's third most popular party until the September killing of a leftist hip-hop musician sparked nationwide protests and a government crackdown on the group long accused of attacking immigrants, charges that it denies.
The investigation has revealed a series of "criminal acts" by the group, culminating in the alleged murder of anti-fascist musician Pavlos Fyssas by a self-confessed neo-Nazi on September 18, according to a government report, parts of which were leaked in the media on Monday.

Golden Dawn regularly organised "assault militias" in which dozens of members would swarm the streets, hitting any immigrant they saw with clubs, it said.
 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/10/greek-neo-nazi-party-leader-due-court-20131028172408833.html
2/10-13 
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