Golden Dawn spokesman detained, paving way for trial against party

The spokesman for neofascist Golden Dawn, Ilias Kasidiaris, was remanded in pretrial custody on Thursday after testifying before magistrates leading a criminal probe into the party, paving the way for the trial of GD lawmakers and members in November after a 10-month investigation.

Kasidiaris, who was transferred to Korydallos Prison, became the ninth Golden Dawn MP to be put in pretrial custody, joining party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and the latter’s second-in-command Christos Pappas among others at Attica’s high-security penitentiary.

The two magistrates leading the investigation and a prosecutor overseeing the probe agreed that Kasidiaris should be detained in pretrial custody after deeming that he was likely to commit further offenses if he was left free. The fact that he attacked cameramen and reporters following his conditional release in November last year is said to have partly influenced the decision.

The party spokesman, who had been on conditional release pending trial on charges of running a criminal organization, said the new charges against him – possessing illegal weapons with the intent to supply a criminal organization – were “ridiculous” and that the case against him was “clearly political.”