Nikos Paraskevopoulos

New Democracy lawmaker Nikitas Kaklamanis on Tuesday submitted a question to Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis and Alternate Minister for Citizens' Protection Nikos Toskas regarding the number of inmates released from custody under a decision by the previous justice minister for easing over-crowding at Greece's prisons.

Greek prisons remain overcrowded despite a drop in the number of inmates due to a law introduced in 2015 that allows the release of certain convicts, particularly those with serious health problems.

According to the latest official figures, there are currently 9,815 inmates in Greek prisons, slightly above the maximum capacity of those institutions, which is 9,573 people.

Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis is reportedly looking at ways to expedite the deportation of the some 150 foreign convicts who have been released from prison in accordance with the so-called Paraskevopoulos Law aimed at decongesting Greek penitentiaries.

The outcry following an armed robbery attempt by four released convicts on the home of an elderly woman in Athens's southern suburbs earlier this week has prompted the Justice Ministry to re-examine a law introduced by the previous minister aimed at decongesting Greek prisons.

German authorities say they were unaware that an Afghan migrant accused of the recent rape and murder of a female medical student in Germany had been convicted of attempted murder in Greece after violating parole there.

The Athens Journalists' Union, ESIEA, has lashed out at the government over the raid of its offices by Golden Dawn members on Monday, saying its actions had emboldened the extreme-right party.

Opposition parties have accused ruling SYRIZA of turning a blind eye to the excesses of Golden Dawn after former justice minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos said in an interview in Sunday's edition of the Vradyni newspaper that the extreme-right party must be supported by democratic parties if it decides to embrace the rule of democracy.

A group of six individuals barged into the offices of conservative lawmaker Adonis Georgiadis in Exarchia, central Athens, on Thursday afternoon, throwing leaflets and painting slogans on the walls.

Isidoros Dogiakos was re-elected as the head of the Athens Appeals Court prosecutor's office on Saturday in the wake of accusations that the government attempted to exclude him from the contest.

The trial of Golden Dawn's leadership and dozens of supporters, which has been conducted at a makeshift courtroom in Attica's high-security Korydallos Prison since April last year, will be moved to the Athens Appeals Court complex, it was decided on Tuesday.