Golden Dawn verdict today

The stakes are high, the trial historic. The interest is huge, both inside and outside Greece. Judges are called to judge for three crimes and to decide whether the accused in the attacks acted autonomously and individually - as the prosecutor said - or as "cogs" of an intolerant, violent, Nazi morph and structure of mechanism expressed in words and extreme actions. From the judges' perception of this issue, the fate of individuals will be judged, with the first being Nikos Michaloliakos, who according to the accusation set the "gears" in motion in the cases of Fyssas, Egyptian fishermen and commuist worker's union PAME, as well as in dozens of others.

The court today, with its institutional role, answers whether in the case of Golden Dawn there is legally a strictly structured criminal organization that an order or an approval armed itself, or if some persons acted voluntarily and independently.

The decision will be delivered by the president of the court Maria Lepenioti, who was drawn for the position of president in the Golden Dawn trial in March 2015, due to her dynamic temperament and rich experience to carry out the multi-faceted nature of the trial. , with 68 defendants, more than 100 lawyers, with provocative behavior, intense episodes.

The president of the court Maria Lepenioti
At 08:30, Magda Fyssa, the mother of the late rap artist Pavlos Fyssas, who fell dead in 2013 from the knife of the Golden Dawn member and murderer Giorgos Roupakias, passed the threshold of the Court of Appeals, without making any statements. Magda Fyssa, who became the face of the trial, did not miss a single day in the 5.5 years from the courtrooms.

Thousands gathered outside the Court of Appeal
Early in the morning people have started to gather outside the Court of Appeals, with the first gathering starting at 8 in the morning.

The security measures are draconian, with 2,000 police officers in the area, men of the Hellenic Police. snipers on rooftops, drones and helicopters to avoid any tension.

The reading of the decision at 11
The president of the court Maria Lepenioti at 11 in the morning is going to start reading the decision in the ceremonial hall of the Court of Appeal which will now have limited seats - about 300 of the 850 available - for attendees - lawyers, defendants, journalists, the public - because of measures for the coronavirus pandemic.

The total number of defendants facing a criminal organization, either as leaders or members, is 65.

Another 3 are being tried for misdemeanors. These are them
Margarita Mikelatou (husband Roupakia) for false deposit,
Theodoros Stefas for illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, and
Anastasios Chilios for illegal possession of weapons and possession of drugs.