Neo-Nazis (Archive photo)
Reuters
Greek neo-Nazi gets 21-year jail term for attempted killings
Member of Chryssi Avghi (Golden Dawn) group violently attacked three student unionists in 1998, gave himself up last September after seven years on the run
An Athens court Monday sentenced a Greek neo-Nazi leader to 21 years in prison for attempted murder after violently attacking three student unionists in 1998.
Antonis Androutsopoulos, 40, a top member of the neo-Nazi group Chryssi Avghi (Golden Dawn), fled after the attack, which took place in broad daylight before the Athens courthouses.
His escape was facilitated by delays in the inquiry, which at the time fueled suspicions of police complicity.
As the sentence was declared Monday, some 30 neo-Nazi militants gathered outside the court sang the Greek national athem and shouted "blood, honor, Chryssie Avghi," the group's slogan.
Since giving himself up last September after seven years on the run, Androutsopoulos has been serving a four-year jail sentence, handed down in absentia, for forming a criminal gang.
Four other accomplices were sentenced in 2002 to lighter jail terms for attacking the students.
Before the trial, several leftist organizations warned against any leniency toward Androutsopoulos.
