Former Golden Dawn deputy leader released from prison, signals political comeback

This afternoon marks the release of Ilias Kasidiaris, the former right-hand man of Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos, from Domokos prison. He had served his full sentence for leading a criminal group.

The 13-year prison sentence was upheld after the Athens Court of Appeal confirmed that Golden Dawn operated as a criminal organization disguised as a political party. Along with Kasidiaris, Nikos Michaloliakos, Giannis Lagos, Christos Pappas, Giorgos Germenis, Ilias Panagiotaros and Artemis Matthaiopoulos were also found guilty of the same offense.

According to his lawyer, Kasidiaris’ release was made possible after he completed his sentence in full, based on calculations set out in the prison code. Of the 13-year sentence, around seven years were actually served, including time spent in pretrial detention, while the remaining six years were credited through prison work, a mechanism under which, in some cases, one day of work counts as more than one day of imprisonment.

The Golden Dawn party made major electoral gains in 2012, entering the Greek parliament for the first time during a period marked by a deep financial and political crisis. In the elections held in June that year, it secured 6.92 percent of the vote and won 18 seats. In 2015, the party retained almost the same level of support, with around 7 percent of the vote and 18 to 19 MPs, but it failed to clear the 3 percent threshold in the 2019 elections and was left outside parliament.

The turning point in the criminal investigation into Golden Dawn came after antifascist musician Pavlos Fyssas was murdered in September 2013 by Giorgos Roupakias, a member of the group. Following a lengthy trial, the court found all 18 former members of the parliamentary group guilty in 2020, seven of them of leading and the other 11 of membership in a criminal organization. On appeal, in March 2026, the convictions of all 42 defendants who had continued with the proceedings were upheld.

Kasidiaris’ public activity did not stop while he was in his cell in Domokos. He continued to communicate through videos, social media posts and online broadcasts in an effort to maintain a political presence.

In 2023, he sought to stand in the elections with a group called “Ellines” (Greeks), but the Supreme Court barred it from participating, considering him the party’s undisputed leader. He later supported the so-called “Spartiates.” In June 2025, the Special Electoral Court stripped three MPs from that party of their seats, ruling that voters had been deceived and that its true leader, operating from the shadows, was Ilias Kasidiaris.

Even while imprisoned, he managed to be elected as a municipal councilor in Athens in 2023, maintaining ties with his supporters and repeatedly signaling his return to the political arena.

His political future, namely whether he will be able to stand for election again, remains the most contentious issue. Kasidiaris himself claims that he is being released with “full political rights” and has announced that he will hold a press conference to set out his plans. His lawyer considers his participation in the next elections almost certain.

Legally, however, the situation remains unclear. A 2023 law prevents political groups whose true leader has been convicted of leading or belonging to a criminal organization from taking part in elections. Legal experts disagree over whether the ban on Kasidiaris ends upon his release from prison or remains in force for the full formal term of his sentence.

Regardless of the interpretations, the final decision will once again rest with the judges of the Supreme Court’s political section, who will determine whether Kasidiaris may serve as a party leader, stand as a parliamentary candidate or act as the shadow leader of another political force. This is precisely the issue at the heart of the debate sparked by the Greek press. According to “Efimerida ton Syntakton,” Kasidiaris has spent months organizing his political comeback and is seeking what has been described as the “institutional normalization” of his image, no longer relying on violent street groups but instead on influence through social media and on a segment of the electorate, mainly young people.

His release, just days before the commemoration of Pavlos Fyssas’ murder, brings back to the center of the Greek political stage a question that many considered settled after the organization’s conviction: can one of Golden Dawn’s main leaders make a political comeback after serving his criminal sentence?

Another important factor is that this comeback is taking place just a few months before the parliamentary elections, at a time when Greece’s political landscape is highly fragmented. New Democracy, although still the leading political force, is facing a strong wave of discontent, while several conservative and far-right groups are competing on its right flank.

Meanwhile, progressive and center-left parties remain divided and without a single clear alternative for government, ruling out any form of cooperation. In this environment, Kasidiaris is attempting to make a comeback by abandoning Golden Dawn’s overt neo-Nazi symbols and adopting supposedly “patriotic,” anti-establishment and anti-political elite rhetoric.

This is the source of concerns raised by some Greek media outlets that “the past may repeat itself, as farce or as tragedy.” In 2012, Golden Dawn also capitalized on public anger, the economic crisis and a lack of trust in the established parties to secure its entry into parliament.

Greece is not currently facing the same conditions. However, some of the political circumstances that once fueled extremism, such as widespread discontent, rising food, fuel and rental prices, as well as political scandals that drive voters toward a protest vote, are once again present. The question now is whether Kasidiaris’ return will be merely a peripheral political episode or whether it will become a factor that shifts the balance on the right of Greece’s political spectrum.