BRUSSELS – A Greek far-right member of the European Parliament refused Wednesday to be extradited from Belgium to Greece to serve a 13-year prison sentence for being a high-ranking member of a criminal organization, the Brussels prosecutor’s office said.
Ioannis Lagos has been living in the Belgian capital, Brussels, since a Greek court in October convicted him and 17 other former Greek parliament members from the extreme-right Golden Dawn party of leading a criminal organization, or being members in it.
Lagos was taken into custody on Tuesday after the European Parliament voted to remove his immunity, paving the way for him to be sent to Athens on a European arrest warrant.