Ousted Golden Dawn member Barbarousis given until Wednesday to prepare his defense
The ousted Golden Dawn MP Constantinos Barbarousis, who is accused of treason, has been given until Wednesday to prepare his defense.
He was arrested on Monday morning in the Penteli area of northern Athens at a friend’s home by counter terrorism officers. He was on the run since Friday after he was indicted by a prosecutor on charges of treason.
In his address to lawmakers earlier on Friday during a debate on a no-confidence motion brought against the government by the opposition for its handling of a name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Barbarousis said that the military should arrest Prime Minsiter Alexis Tsipras, his coalition partner Panos Kammenos and Greek President Propkopis Pavlopoulos, in order to “prevent this treason,” that is the name deal with Skopje.
His rant prompted the parliamentary speaker to ban the far-right party from any further discussions on the no-confidence motion and to accuse Golden Dawn of inciting violence.
Golden Dawn’s leadership kicked him out of the party for straying from the neo-Nazi party’s line.
He is, reports suggest, expected to deny the charge on Wednesday. According to his lawyer, Barbarousis said his comments were unfortunate and were made in the heat of the moment.
