Nikos Michaloliakos, the founder and leader of the neo-Nazi criminal organization Golden Dawn, has been released from prison on health grounds, a judicial council has ruled.
Mr. Michaloliakos was serving a 13-year sentence for leading a criminal organization responsible for a wave of violent attacks, including the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas.
He will now serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
The decision sparked immediate and harsh condemnation from opposition parties.
The Communist Party (KKE) said the justice system has shown undue leniency toward unrepentant Golden Dawn members, while the New Left party called the release a "severe blow to the fight for democracy."
The main opposition Syriza party denounced the release as an "affront to democratic principles and the memory of Pavlos Fyssas," and called on all democratic forces to intensify their resistance against fascism.