ATHENS – A Greek court is expected Thursday to sentence the 18 former lawmakers of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party, including its leader, a day after the three-member panel of judges delivered a landmark verdict deeming the party a criminal organization.
Wednesday’s verdict was the culmination of a five-year, politically charged trial that involved 68 defendants — party officials, members and alleged supporters — more than 200 witnesses and over 60 lawyers.
About 20,000 people held an anti-fascist rally outside the courthouse, and thousands more held a similar rally in the northern city of Thessaloniki.
Golden Dawn, founded as a neo-Nazi group in the 1980s, rose to prominence during Greece’s brutal near decade-long financial crisis.