Golden Dawn trial resumes with arguments on whether sentences should be suspended

The Golden Dawn trial resumed before the Athens criminal appeals court at 10:00 on Thursday morning, with the defence lawyers presenting arguments for the suspension of the sentences imposed on their clients pending appeal.

The lawyer of Giorgos Roupakias, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Pavlos Fyssas and another 14 years on additional charges, announced that his client will not submit a request for suspended sentence, though this was occasionally given to those facing life sentences in some cases.

The court's decisions will determine whether those that have received prison sentences will be sent directly to jail or remain at liberty pending an appeal. Final decisions are expected either late on Thursday or on Friday.

At this stage, the lawyers are allowed to examine witnesses and present arguments to show that it is not necessary to incarcerate their clients, or supply evidence of the damage that incarceration will inflict on their family life or health.

If the court does decide on the incarceration of the convicted Golden Dawn members, their actual time in jail, depending on the severity of their sentence, will for most range between three and 4.8 years due to laws allowing their release after serving three fifths of their sentence and after subtracting the time when they were jailed on remand.