The long-awaited Golden Dawn trial that began today at a specially adapted courthouse in the Korydallos prison facility has been adjourned until the 7th of May.
Of the 69 defendants, 24 did not attend the proceedings on Monday, while one other has since passed away. The neo-Nazi party’s leadership was amongst the absentees, in an effort to undermine the political meaning of the trial.
The court president decided to adjourn the trial, after one of the defendants – Nikos Papavisiliou – did not have a lawyer and asked for the court to appoint him one.
Before the trial was adjourned, MPs Artemis Mattheopoulos, Polyvios Zisimopoulos and Stathis Boukouras took the stand – the later has “denounced” Golden Dawn since the launch of the investigation.
Giorgos Roupakias, the self-confessed murderer of Pavlos Fyssas, arrived in the courthouse in handcuffs and also took the stand. Members of the Fyssas family were reportedly in the audience.
Councilors for the prosecution complained that two witnesses were assaulted by Golden Dawn supporters, as they were approaching the courthouse. The event will likely be used as an argument to have the trial transferred to a different location, amid fears for unrest in the area.
