MPs vote to lift immunity of ultranationalist party leader
Parliament on Wednesday voted to lift the immunity of the leader of the ultranationalist Greek Solution party.
MPs paved the way for Kyriakos Velopoulos to be prosecuted for comments last year in support of gun possession so that victims of robberies can, he said, defend themselves from members of Greece’s Roma community. Parliament examined the issue after a lawsuit was filed by two members of the Roma community.
Velopoulos himself requested the waiver of his immunity. He made his controversial remarks last October when, among other things, he stated that Greeks should be trained in weapons use so that they can open fire “every time the Roma barge” into their homes.