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Cuffed Michaloliakos Leads Golden Dawn Defiance

Michaloliakos12The 19 people arrested in the Greek police roundup of members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party were taken to Building 16 of the Greek courts main headquarters in Athens.

Taken out of police headquarters on the way to court, party leader Nikos Michaloliakos came out first, escorted by police in the so-called “perp walk,” paraded in handcuffs before waiting cameras and reporters, defiantly holding up a briefcase, surrounded by hooded officers of the counter-terrorism squad who conducted the early morning raids.

Addressing journalists, he yelled, “Down with the pimps!” an apparent reference to informants as police said they had gotten some members an former members to talk at the same time authorities were using wire taps to gather evidence against the party, whose leaders will be charged, among other felonies, with operating a criminal gang, and links to the murder of anti-fascist hip-hop artist Pavlos Fyssas by one of its members.

“Nothing can weigh us down! Long live Greece!” he shouted. He was followed by party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris, also a Member of Parliament who is facing criminal charges in an unrelated case and who screamed at people and reporters as well.

Then came Ilias Panayiotaros who said, “Is the show good?” mocking the events. “For dinner, eat the memorandum,” he added, a reference to the deal Golden Dawn opposes that Greece has with international lenders putting up $325 billion in two bailouts but who have insisted on harsh austerity measures that have created a record unemployment rate of 27.9 percent and impoverished 20 percent of the Greek population.

The Golden Dawn members were shouting profanities, squirming against their handcuffs and otherwise belligerent while being put into police vehicles to be taken to the court. There were five Golden Dawn deputies in Parliament, including Yiannis Lagos and Nikos Michos, while Christos Pappas had yet to be found late on Sept. 28.

They were led to the prosecutor of the First Degree Court, Dimitris Pierros, and then to interrogators. A group of 16 prosecutors will handle the case of the suspects, the five MPs, although arrest warrants had been issued for another 30 party members as well.

On their way to the court, Michaloliakos’ wife, Eleni Zaroulia, hugged him and said, “My darling, you humiliated them. Long live Golden Dawn.” His daughter, Ourania, was crying as she kissed him and said, “Dad! Dad!” before falling into her mother’s arms.

Kasidiaris, his face twisted in anger, yelled, “We’re not being weighed down, you c–ts!” The five MPs refused to give any testimony or answer questions from interrogators. They asked for the case file and time to study it first.

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