(3 Oct 2013) The man described as the second in command of Greece's extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party appeared in court on Thursday for his preliminary hearing following the September 17 fatal stabbing of a rap singer.
Christos Pappas was taken to court hours after the party's head was jailed, pending trial on charges of running a criminal organisation in an investigation into his political party triggered by the killing of the left-wing rapper.
The party has vehemently denied any role in the killing and has hinted its deputies might resign to provoke elections in 15 multi-party constituencies.
Pappas said Golden Dawn would stand for any possible upcoming election whenever they would happen, as he was escorted into the courthouse.
Party head Nikos Michaloliakos, who is a sitting member of Parliament, was ordered to be remanded in custody in the early hours of Thursday morning, after an overnight testimony that lasted for more than six hours.
Michaloliakos and five of his party lawmakers were among 20 people arrested over the weekend in a crackdown against the Nazi-inspired party following the fatal stabbing of rap singer Pavlos Fyssas.
A man arrested at the scene of the attack identified himself as being involved in Golden Dawn.
On Wednesday, the court ordered the release of three party lawmakers and the jailing of a fourth in the same case.
All have denied the charges against them.
The court also ordered Giorgos Patelis, the head of Golden Dawn's local office in the area west of Athens where Fyssas was stabbed, to be remanded in custody.
The party has vehemently denied any role in the killing.
It is the first time since democracy was restored in Greece in 1974 after a military dictatorship that sitting members of parliament have been arrested and jailed.
The government, which has vowed to eradicate the group, has argued the party has been acting as a criminal organisation rather than a political party.
Golden Dawn, which the government has described as a "Nazi creation," rose from the margins of Greece's political scene to become the third most popular party in Greece amid the country's severe financial crisis.
It won nearly 7 percent of the vote and 18 of Parliament's 300 seats in the 2012 general elections.
It has long been blamed for a series of violent attacks, mostly against immigrants.
The party denies it is behind any violence.
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