NEWS

Golden Dawn files defamation suit against leftist MP

Far-right Golden Dawn on Monday filed a suit against SYRIZA MP Dimitris Stratoulis on slander charges, after the leftist deputy called Golden Dawn a “gang of criminals.”

The suit was filed on behalf of Golden Dawn by MP Ilias Panagiotaros after Stratoulis lashed out at the ultranationalist party following his assault on Sunday night by three men claiming to belong to Golden Dawn.

Stratoulis was attending a soccer game at Athens’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday night when three men approached him at half time and claimed they were members of Golden Dawn. “We will kill you,” they allegedly said before beating Stratoulis with their fists and feet.

SYRIZA condemned the assault and demanded that its perpetrators be arrested and face charges.

Golden Dawn denied any kind of involvement in the incident, stressing that at the time of the attack its members were holding a rally in Nikaia, in southeastern Athens.

“Golden Dawn has nothing to do with the attack against the SYRIZA MP,” the party said in a statement. “The left-wing politicians who foment violence … should stop using the name of Golden Dawn.”

The government condemned the attack on Monday, with spokesman Simos Kedikoglou saying “any kind of attack and threat is unacceptable in our democracy. Violence has no place in our culture.”

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