After years of hearings, judges at an Athens appeals court maintained the original prison sentences for the core leadership of Golden Dawn, which Greek courts have ruled operated as a criminal organization behind the façade of a political party.
Seven former lawmakers found guilty of directing the organization received the following sentences:
- 13 years in prison: Nikos Michaloliakos, Ilias Kasidiaris, Giannis Lagos, Giorgos Germenis, Christos Pappas and Ilias Panagiotaros
- 10 years in prison: Artemis Matthaiopoulos
The court also upheld the life sentence — plus an additional 10 years — imposed on Giorgos Roupakias, the self-confessed perpetrator of the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas.
Court Orders Eleni Zaroulia to Serve Prison Sentence
As part of its rulings on the execution of the sentences, the court ordered that former Golden Dawn lawmaker Eleni Zaroulia be taken into custody to serve a five-year prison sentence for membership in a criminal organization.
Zaroulia — the wife of Golden Dawn founder Nikos Michaloliakos — had initially been sentenced to six years in prison in the original trial but had remained free pending the outcome of the appeal.
Although her sentence is among the lighter penalties imposed in the case, the court ordered her imprisonment because she had not served any part of the sentence handed down in the first trial.
Sentences for Membership in the Organization
For the charge of participating in a criminal organization, the court imposed the following sentences on other former Golden Dawn lawmakers:
- 7 years in prison: Panagiotis Iliopoulos, Nikos Kouzilos
- 6 years in prison: Polyvios Zisimopoulos, Konstantinos Barbarousis
- 5 years in prison: Eleni Zaroulia, Nikos Michos, Efstathios Boukouras, Michalis Arvanitis, Antonis Gregos, Dimitris Koukoutsis and Chrysovalantis Alexopoulos
Sentences in Related Criminal Cases
In the case of the Fyssas murder, accomplices — including Giorgos Patelis and Ioannis Kazantzoglou — were sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven to 10 years.
In a separate case involving an attack on Egyptian fishermen in the Athens port area, Anastasios Pantazis was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while other defendants received sentences of six and seven years.
Court Rejects Most Requests for Leniency
Earlier in the proceedings, the five-judge appeals panel rejected most requests by convicted defendants for mitigating circumstances that could have reduced their prison sentences.
The ruling effectively ended attempts by many of the defendants to secure lighter penalties through the appeals process.
Since the original verdict, several of those convicted had remained out of prison while awaiting the appeals court’s decision on mitigating factors and final sentencing.
Mitigating Circumstances Granted to Five Defendants
In a majority decision, the court recognized the mitigating factor of “good behavior after the act” for five defendants — Antonis Gregos, Aristodimos Daskalakis, Markos Evgenikos, Dimitris Koukoutsis and Maria Thoma — allowing for reduced penalties compared with those imposed in the original trial.
The court also granted suspended sentences, combined with a three-year ban on leaving the country, to Chrysovalantis Alexopoulos, Michalis Arvanitis, Antonis Gregos, Efstathios Boukouras and Aristodimos Daskalakis.
In addition, several sentences were converted into financial penalties of five euros per day, including those of Nikos Michos, Maria Thoma and Markos Evgenikos.
