Appeals Court chief vows steps to speed up GD trial

The head of the Athens Court of Appeals, Constantinos Stamadianos, vowed measures on Wednesday to accelerate the trial of Greece's neo-fascist Golden Dawn party, which started three-and-a-half years ago.

Stamadianos said that judges hearing the case will be relieved of all other duties and that the number of monthly hearings will be increased to 15, with an eye to wrapping up proceedings by the end of 2019.

The case against the leadership, key officials and members of Golden Dawn, sparked by the fatal stabbing of rapper Pavlos Fyssas in September 2013 by a self-professed party member, started in April 2015 and aims to rule whether the party constitutes a criminal organization, with a hierarchy that is responsible for ordering the attack on Fyssas, among other incidents. These include several brutal assaults against migrant workers and left-wing activists.