Golden Dawn MPs appear before judge in Greece, call charges 'fairy tale'

Four members of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party appeared in court Tuesday to respond to charges of belonging to a criminal group after the killing of an anti-racism rapper by a party supporter.

Flanked by hooded anti-terrorism police, one of the MPs, Ilias Panagiotaros, raised his handcuffed fists in the air and proclaimed his innocence, shouting: "This fairy tale has no end!"

Panagiotaros, Ilias Kasidiaris, Nikos Michos and Yannis Lagos were arrested Saturday alongside party leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos and dozens more Golden Dawn members.

The crackdown on Greece's third most popular party, whose appeal has so far appeared immune to accusations of brutality, is the biggest threat to Golden Dawn since it entered parliament last year and won 18 seats. The party has drawn on anger over the country's debt crisis, high unemployment and corruption, promising to rid the country of "the stench of immigrants."

The party members have been charged in relation to evidence allegedly linking the party with a string of attacks, including the stabbing of rapper Pavlos Fissas on September 17 and the killing of a Pakistani immigrant this year.

The court magistrate will decide if the suspects will be kept in detention pending trial. Mihaloliakos and his deputy leader Christos Pappas are expected to appear before the magistrate this week.

The killing of Fissas – who bled to death after being stabbed twice in the heart and chest in what prosecutors said was a premeditated attack – has prompted protests across Greece, a shake-up of the police and a broad investigation of the party.

The arrests are the most significant mass round-up of lawmakers since a military coup in 1967. The lawmakers deny the charges and say the crackdown is politically motivated.

The arrests surprised Greeks wary of political theatre in a country where little has been done over the past year to rein in a party that is frequently accused of attacking migrants, a charge it denies.

"Does the government actually mean it or is it just a tactic to impress us? Why didn't they do anything when the immigrants were killed? How come they just discovered that Golden Dawn is a criminal organization?" Dimitra Vassilopoulou, a 58-year old housewife, said.

Police have so far found unlicensed weapons, Nazi flags and portraits of Adolf Hitler during searches of the homes of arrested party members.

But Golden Dawn, whose black-and-red emblem resembles a swastika, rejects the neo-Nazi label. It has strongly denied involvement in the killing and links to violent attacks on immigrants.

The party has courted the support of victims of the country's acute economic recession by giving out food in rundown neighborhoods, but only to Greek nationals.

The party says its members are victims of a conspiracy and political persecution, and called for protests outside the court in solidarity with its detained members.

"Ideas cannot be prosecuted!" the party declared on its website.

The Greek government said Monday it would soon present a bill targeting racist hate speech, part of a crackdown on the far-right Golden Dawn party after the killing of the anti-fascist rapper.

"(The bill) will be submitted to parliament in a matter of days. It has symbolic and moral value," Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos told reporters, adding that it would align Greek legislation with European standards.

The government is also preparing another law that would suspend Golden Dawn's state funding on the grounds that its leadership is facing prosecution on felony charges.

"Democracy can't fund its opponents," Venizelos said.

Al Jazeera and Reuters