Ilias Kasidiaris released from Domokos prison, vows to form 'powerful' new party

Former Golden Dawn spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris was released today from Domokos prison in central Greece after serving the sentence imposed for his role in a criminal organisation. Speaking to reporters on leaving the facility, he framed his release as the start of a political comeback.

“I promised you that once I pass through this gate I will return, not only as a free man but on the front line of our national struggles. And today I return,” Kasidiaris told journalists as he exited the prison.

He said he intends to re-enter politics by creating what he called a "new, powerful national party, like those that dominate in the rest of Europe," and accused his opponents of being alarmed by the prospect of his return. He mocked politicians who, he said, "literally cry and plead" at the thought of him re-entering politics and appealed to democratic choice.

Sentence, verdict and the 2023 ban

The 45-year-old was sentenced in October 2020 to 13½ years in prison after a landmark trial that found Golden Dawn to be a criminal organisation operating under the cover of a political party. The court concluded that senior party figures ran a network responsible for violent attacks on migrants and political opponents.

In 2023, Greece’s Supreme Court banned the far-right outfit Kasidiaris later founded, the National Party – Greeks, and barred it from taking part in the parliamentary elections held on May 21 of that year. The court upheld legal changes that exclude parties led by politicians convicted of serious crimes and those deemed not to contribute to the "free functioning of the democratic constitution" of Greece.

Kasidiaris’s announcement is likely to reshape debates on the Greek far right and place renewed pressure on authorities and rival parties to respond to any attempt to rebuild a political platform around figures convicted in the Golden Dawn trial.

Photo: Arhiva na