Spartiates trial adjourned again; Kasidiaris release denied

Originally slated to begin in the summer, the trial against 11 former MPs of the far-right Spartiates (Spartans) was postponed again on Thursday after party chief Vassilis Stingas failed to show up in court, citing obligations in Parliament.

The ex-lawmakers face charges of election fraud after being accused of acting as a Trojan horse for Ilias Kasidiaris so that the jailed deputy of the now-defunct neo-Nazi Golden party could maintain a presence, by proxy, in Parliament. 

Kasidiaris is also in the dock for allegedly orchestrating the party's formation and getting it above the 3% threshold needed to enter Parliament in the 2023 general elections. The influential Golden Dawn figure is widely believed to have been running a covert social media campaign from prison to get the party elected and to maintain his support base.

There is also a 13th defendant standing...