Witnesses attacked as neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party trial opens

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(JTA) — Witnesses in the trial of Golden Dawn party leaders reportedly were attacked outside the courthouse by supporters of the Greek neo-Nazi party.

The trial convened Monday in the high-security Korydallos prison outside Athens, where the party leaders are being held, but was adjourned until May 7 amid reports of the attacks, the Kathimerini newspaper reported.

Sixty-nine leaders and activists, including Golden Dawn head Nikolaos Michaloliakos and several lawmakers, are charged with running a violent criminal organization behind the murder of an anti-fascist musician and several attacks on immigrants.

Many of the party leaders have been held since October 2013, when they were arrested in the wake of the killing of Pavlos Fyssas, a rapper also known as Killah P. Prosecutors charge that he was killed on the orders of the party hierarchy.

Golden Dawn has maintained its political strength in recent years despite the crackdown on its leadership. It currently has 17 lawmakers in the national parliament.

The party, which frequently uses Nazi imagery, has been accused of being behind dozens of racist attacks on immigrants. Its leaders have denied the existence of Nazi death camps and gas chambers.

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