By Antonis

Copyright thenationalherald

Honestly, is anyone surprised that the former leader of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party Nikos Michaloliakos – for a second time – was released from a jail sentence after serving 5 years of a 13-year sentence?

The reason: his health condition, having been treated for COVID-19 during the pandemic and spending the last three years being treated, including in rehabilitation centers while the other ex-Golden Dawn lawmakers and members who were convicted of running a criminal gang in 2020 are still in prison.

Apparently, Michaloliakos is the only prisoner among the 10,000 or so incarcerated to have a health problem but the judicial council of the prison where he formerly was in a cell instead of a bed watching TV didn’t provide any details on how serious his health was.

He was placed under house arrest with restrictions, including a ban on leaving the Athens area and a requirement to check in with police so apparently he’s well enough to drive to the police station and maybe stop for a Greek coffee or to buy some Nazi paraphernalia.

It wasn’t said if he’ll be wearing an ankle bracelet or how he will be monitored to ensure that he’s home, or if he’ll be allowed to consort with other extreme far-rightists or other Golden Dawn members Ilias Pangiotaros and Christos Pappas, who were let out in July.

In their case it was because they were deemed to have served their sentences and shown no disciplinary issues while in prison. They were also subjected to restrictions, such as a ban on leaving Greece.

Greek law allows for early conditional release for inmates who have serious health problems or a severe disability that makes managing prison life difficult and it can only be awarded once but he was briefly released in May 2024, news agency Agence-France Press reported, but judicial officials later said he had not shown good behavior and ordered him sent back to jail after that.

In 2018, when the Radical Left SYRIZA was in power, the early release law was amended but drew criticism after instances of serious offenders, including a businessman convicted of embezzlement who reportedly used forged health certificates to get released.

In 2012, Michaloliakos and his merry band won 18 seats in the 300-member Greek Parliament where they were a comedy sideshow and frequently disrupted proceedings. He had been seen in photos giving a Heil Hitler salute so let’s hope his health problems don’t prevent him from doing that again.

As the late tortured comic genius Lenny Bruce once said: “The only justice in the halls of justice is in the halls,” and there sure isn’t in the courtrooms of Greece, where it can take a decade to deal with cases because of a backlog and laissez-faire judges.

Michaloliakos is 67, an age at which people certainly can have health problems, especially after COVID but it’s impossible to believe he’s the only one in the system in a serious condition, although no figures are available.

The decision predictably drew outrage, especially from Magda Fyssas, mother of anti-Fascist hip-hop rapper Pavlos Fyssas, who was stabbed to death on Sept. 18, 2013 – a date almost coinciding with Michaloliakos’ release.

A Golden Dawn member, Giorgos Roupakias, was convicted of the killing and given a life sentence, plus 10 years but look for him to be not in good health before too many years pass and sent home to finish his sentence and be able to order pizza.

“This is Greek justice. The fascists are free, the progressive allies jailed. What else can I say? I’m too angry,” said Fyssas’ mother, reported the Free Press Project. She had given passionate testimony in court and thrown a plastic water bottle at Roupakias, and it’s a wonder she’s not in jail for assaulting a Nazi wannabe.

After the convictions of the Golden Dawners, Amnesty International said “This verdict sends a clear message to political groups with aggressive anti-migrant and anti-human rights agendas in Greece and across Europe that violent and racist criminal activity – whether perpetrated by individuals on the street or members of Parliament, will not go unpunished.” Eh, wrong! .

The lawyers representing the Fyssas family described the decision as “scandalous” and “an insult to the collective memory of democratic society and warned that, “The release of Nikos Michaloliakos scandalously marks the 12th anniversary of the murder of Pavlos Fyssas. The message is clear: favorable treatment of the crimes of the far right and Nazism. The criminal organisation has not been eliminated, but continues.”

Kostas Papadakis, who represented Egyptian fishermen attacked by Golden Dawn, said, “The invocation of humanity could be convincing if it were applied to all prisoners – not just to those long treated with privilege by the state apparatus. We expect the country’s highest judicial bodies to rise to the occasion and ensure that justice is fully served.”

In July, 2018 former defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, 79, convicted of corruption and sentenced to 20 years in jail for money laundering and taking bribes over defense contracts was ordered released six years into his sentence. On health grounds.

It wasn’t long until he was spotted eating lobster spaghetti at an exclusive seaside restaurant because his release was granted for having had bypass surgery so maybe he didn’t order extra butter. He died three years later from organ failure and sepsis.

There is no justice.