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Greece's Golden Dawn boasts of European election decision

GREECE’S neofascist Golden Dawn party boasted at the weekend that the country’s supreme court had allowed it to participate in coming European parliament elections.

“We expected this decision. We have faith in Greek justice,” lawyer Pavlos Sarakis claimed.

The court’s decision came despite a continuing criminal probe against the party, six of whose MPs — including its leader — are in prison awaiting trial.

Nearly all 18 Golden Dawn MPs are under investigation for serious crimes allegedly committed by party members over the past two years.

Under Greek law, candidates are only prevented from standing in an election after they are convicted of a crime and none of the Golden Dawn leaders have yet been tried.

No court date has yet been set.

Golden Dawn thugs have been accused of assaulting political opponents, as well as murdering a Pakistani migrant and left-wing rapper Pavlos Fyssas last year.

Golden Dawn alleges that it is facing political persecution by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s conservative-led coalition government which, the extremists claim, fears its popular appeal.

Mr Samaras said this week that he believed the neofascist party should be defeated ideologically, not banned, and insisted that he would not try to influence the courts on the issue.

Golden Dawn took around 7 per cent of the vote in the 2012 Greek election.

It now polls at around 8 per cent, compared to 18-20 per cent for the main parties.

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