‘Turkish agent’ case against Golden Dawn in Greece concludes

Former MPs from the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, which was shut down in Greece, have been found not guilty in the case in which they were prosecuted for calling MPs of Turkish origin in parliament “Turkish agents”.

Three prominent former members of Golden Dawn, Nikos Mihaloliakos, Ellias Kasidiaris and Panagiotis Iliopulos, called some of the deputies of the Greek Parliament “Turkish agents” in 2018. During the debate in parliament on the issue of Cyprus and relations with Turkey, far-right MPs used racist expressions against SYRIZA Rhodope MP Mustafa Mustafa, saying: “We cannot keep a Turkish MP among us. The Turkish agent is out,” he said.

In the case, the judge decided to drop the charges against the racist former lawyers. It was stated that the expressions used by the three names for the deputies of Turkish origin “do not have the quality of unleashing racist violence”.

Kasidiaris, who testified in the courtroom, continued to use the phrase “Turkish agent” and said: “All the accusations made by Turkish agents are unfounded. I did not speak of any minority or ethnic origin,” he said.

The Greek judiciary ruled in 2020 that the far-right Golden Dawn Party was a “criminal organization.” Former leaders of the party, which gained strength after the economic crisis that hit Greece and entered parliament in 2012, remain in prison on charges of “membership of a criminal organization.”