Nationalism

The appointment of Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu’s as the opposition’s joint candidate for Turkey’s next president will be positive for the country given his vast knowledge and experience in the Middle East, the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has said.

A former Golden Dawn deputy was released after testifying on Monday before the two magistrates probing whether the far-right constitutes a criminal organization,

Chrysovalantis Alexopoulos, a Larissa MP who resigned from the party in early March, has denied charges of involvement in a criminal organization.

A compromise formula this week saved Israel from being sanctioned by world football governing body FIFA and has bought the Jewish state time, but serves as a harbinger of growing diplomatic and public impatience with perceived Israeli intransigence in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Golden Dawn MP Michalis Arvanitis was released by magistrates on Friday on the condition that he does not engage in any hate speech.

He is the first of the far-right party’s lawmakers to be granted this form of conditional release.

Golden Dawn deputy Michalis Arvanitis was released from custody on Friday after facing the two magistrates investigating the party for alleged criminal activities.

The 72-year-old lawmaker for the ultranationalist party was ordered not to leave the country and banned from participating in party events outside Parliament.

The two magistrates investigating Golden Dawn on Thursday gave Eleni Zaroulia, a party MP and the wife of its leader Nikos Michaloliakos, five more days before she has to provide a deposition.

Zaroulia was due to face Ioanna Klapa and Maria Dimitropoulou on Thursday but her lawyer was not able to attend so she was allowed to put off her deposition until Tuesday.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism, has voiced its concern over the appointment of Makis Voridis as Health Minister in Monday's government reshuffle.

The two magistrates investigating the suspected criminal activities of far-right party Golden Dawn granted MP Eleni Zaroulia several days to prepare her testimony.

Zaroulia, who is answering to charges of belonging to and running a criminal organization, was given until June 17 to respond to the charges.

Another Golden Dawn deputy was remanded in custody Tuesday on charges of setting up and directing a criminal organization.

Magistrates Ioanna Klapa and Maria Dimitropoulou placed Nikos Kouzilos, who denies the charges, in pretrial detention after more than six hours of questioning on grounds that he may commit new crimes.

According to the final results of the May 25 elections for the European Parliament that came out last week, Golden Dawn (GD) became the third strongest Greek party among the European deputies attracting more than half a million votes and nearly 10% of the national vote. Hence it sent three out of a total of 21 deputies to the new European Parliament.