Extreme right Golden Dawn party leader testifies in court

ATHENS, Greece – The head of Greece’s extreme far-right Golden Dawn party has begun testifying in court as part of a long-running trial over the party’s activities in which he and several former party lawmakers are accused of running a criminal organization.

Nikos Michaloliakos is the last of 69 defendants, including 18 former lawmakers, to take the stand in the trial that began in April 2015, sparked by the 2013 killing of a Greek rapper for which a party volunteer was arrested.

Security was tight at the courthouse Wednesday for Michaloliakos’ testimony, with about 100 Golden Dawn supporters inside and a few hundred anti-fascist protesters outside.

Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn became Greece’s third largest parliamentary party during the country’s financial crisis, but this July failed to win enough votes to enter parliament.