Christos Pappas, a senior member of the ultra-right Greek Golden Dawn party who is evading arrest after being sentenced to a 13-year prison term, has challenged the court verdict, the politician's lawyer, Periklis Stavrianakis, said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2020) Christos Pappas, a senior member of the ultra-right Greek Golden Dawn party who is evading arrest after being sentenced to a 13-year prison term, has challenged the court verdict, the politician's lawyer, Periklis Stavrianakis, said on Monday.
On October 7, Golden Dawn was recognized as a criminal organization, which became the first such precedent in Europe's modern history. Sixty-eight Golden Dawn leaders and members were convicted of crimes including violence, attempted murder and murder. A week later, a Greek court sentenced party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and five former parliament members from Golden Dawn, including Christos Pappas, to 13 years in prison and a number of other members to shorter terms. Pappas has not been seen since his last check-in with his local police station in the northern Athens suburb of Papagou on October 1.
"An appeal was lodged against the conviction and thus, together with other appeals, the way is opened for the appellate court," Stavrianakis said, as cited by the Greek Ekathimerini newspaper.
The lawyer added that he had no knowledge of Pappas' whereabouts.
Golden Dawn, founded in the 1980s, had risen to become a prominent political force and the third-largest party in parliament during and after the economic crisis in 2012 but lost all seats as a result of the 2019 elections.
