The founder and leader of the far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikos Michaloliakos, is to be released from prison, where he was serving a 13-year sentence imposed on him as the leader of a criminal organisation.
Michaloliakos was released on health grounds and will serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, with additional conditions.
Sources said his release was ordered by the Lamia Judicial Council, which accepted his request for release for reasons of health.
Michaloliakos had returned to jail in June 2024 when a Lamia Council of Appellate Judges had overturned an earlier order for his release issued by a Misdemeanour Court Judges' Council. The appellate judges had at that time adopted the arguments of the public prosecutor and judged that articles by Michaloliakos in the electronic media continued to support Golden Dawn's nazi-style practices, showing that he was unrepentant. The judges therefore considered him likely to commit further offences and ordered that he remain prison.