Former Golden Dawn lawmaker Christos Pappas, convicted in 2020 of serving as deputy leader of the now-defunct neo-Nazi party and sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison, defended himself on Friday during his appeal hearing at the Athens Court of Appeals. Pappas, who was conditionally released in July, rejected the charges against him.
“I cannot understand why I am accused,” Pappas told the court. “There is nothing in the case file linking me to any incitement of illegal acts. I served as the party’s parliamentary representative, and the lower court overlooked my parliamentary work.”
He denied any involvement in the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas, also known as “Killah P,” which was carried out by a Golden Dawn supporter and triggered the criminal investigation against the party. “I was absent for 15 years, then became a member of parliament, and suddenly many people did not like it. Did I ever tell anyone ‘kill Fyssas’? For me, taking a life is not only a serious criminal offense but the greatest sin,” he said, adding that he first learned of the killing on the radio the following morning.
Considered one of Golden Dawn’s leading ideologues, Pappas dismissed the “No. 2” label as a media fabrication and addressed his personal connection to party leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos. “Just because I am the godfather for Michaloliakos, does that make it a crime? I was not part of his inner circle,” he said.
Pappas also commented on photographs included in the case file, including one taken beneath a Nazi flag, saying they dated back to his youth and had never been made public. “I am 62 today. Back in 1989 I was more romantic… the media found some files to create impressions. Nothing was found that could incriminate me,” he said.
He denied issuing any directives for the party, claiming instead that members were tested on Greek history and that he had “renounced past ideologies.”
Pappas alleged that the crackdown on Golden Dawn was politically motivated by the then New Democracy government of Antonis Samaras. “We were cutting into their vote share – we were taking votes away from Samaras. If that’s not political gangsterism, then what is?” he said, referencing a secretly recorded video of then cabinet secretary Takis Baltakos speaking with Golden Dawn spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris. In the video, Baltakos appeared to suggest that the criminal investigation was intended to stem losses for the ruling conservatives.
The appeal trial, which began in 2022, involves most of Golden Dawn’s former MPs. Many defendants have already served their sentences and did not appear in court. Present on Friday were Pappas, former MEP Ioannis Lagos and former MP Stathis Boukouras.
Pappas was arrested in 2021, months after Golden Dawn’s leadership was convicted of running a criminal organization. The landmark trial lasted more than five years and saw verdicts handed down against 68 defendants in 2020.