Greece's top court has allowed the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party to participate in upcoming European Parliament elections, the news agency AFP reported on Sunday, citing a party lawyer. The authorization came despite an ongoing criminal probe against the political party, six of whose lawmakers including its leader are in prison awaiting trial.
The court approved a list of 43 parties that can contest the European and local elections.
Nearly all of Golden Dawn's 18 national lawmakers are under investigation by Greek justice over serious crimes allegedly committed by the once-fringe party over the past two years, during its rise to prominence. Under Greek law, candidates are only prevented from standing in an election if they are convicted of a crime, not if they are under investigation. A date for the criminal trials has yet to be set.
The party's European election list includes none of its parliament deputies. Among its candidates are two retired senior army officers.
Evidence being used against Golden Dawn includes claims of assault against political opponents, as well as the murders of a Pakistani migrant and a left-wing Greek rapper last year. Nazi and fascist memorabilia were also found in the home of Golden Dawn's deputy leader earlier this year.
Golden Dawn claims it was facing political persecution by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' coalition government, which fears its popular appeal. To ward against a possible ban in European and local elections, due later this month, Golden Dawn recently created a sister party called National Dawn. However, on Sunday Golden Dawn said this second party was being sidelined.
Samaras last week said he believed the neo-Nazi party should be defeated, not banned, and insisted he would not try to influence the judiciary on the issue.
Formerly on the fringe of Greek politics, Golden Dawn surged in popularity in the wake of the country's debt crisis, tapping into widespread anger over immigration and austerity reforms. The party took around seven percent of the vote in the 2012 Greek election. It currently polls at around eight percent, compared to around 18-20 percent for the main parties.
Last week, a number of prominent Greek-American politicians spoke out against Golden Dawn. Responding to a call by the World Jewish Congress (WJC), which recently published an updated report on 'Neo-Nazism in Modern Europe' that highlights the dangers of Golden Dawn and similar movements on the continent, lawmakers from both the Democratic and the Republican Party denounced Golden Dawn and agreed that it needs to be defeated.
