Greek Far-Right Leader Jailed

Extreme-right Golden Dawn party leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos was taken into custody in Athens on October 2.

An Athens court has ordered the head of Greece's extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party to be jailed, pending a trial on charges of running a criminal organization.

Nikolaos Michaloliakos has denied the charges against him.

He was ordered remanded into custody early on October 3, after overnight testimony before investigating magistrates.

Michaloliakos and five of his party lawmakers were among 20 people arrested over the weekend in a crackdown against the party following the fatal stabbing in September of a left-wing rap singer.

Three of the detained lawmakers have been freed pending trial, while a fourth was remanded in custody.

Greek authorities have described Golden Dawn as a neo-Nazi criminal gang.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters