Chrysovalantis Alexopoulos

Some 18 former lawmakers of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party are set to take the stand on Tuesday in what is the final phase of the trial which began in 2015 and is now entering the final straight.

Their testimonies will be the last after almost 400 days of hearings, during which hardly any of them appeared in court.

Greek Parliament failed to elect a president for a second time on Tuesday after 168 of 300 MPs voted in favor of the candidate, Stavros Dimas, meaning a third ballot will be needed on December 29.

The government garnered 160 votes in the first round of crucial presidential elections on Wednesday, performing slightly worse than anticipated and increasing speculation about snap polls.

Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos, his second-in-command Christos Pappas and another MP, Yiannis Lagos, are to be transferred on Friday from Korydallos Prison, where they are in custody on charges of running a criminal organization, to defend themselves before the two magistrates leading a criminal probe into the neofascist party on additional charges.

The two magistrates investigating Golden Dawn on Thursday gave Eleni Zaroulia, a party MP and the wife of its leader Nikos Michaloliakos, five more days before she has to provide a deposition.

Zaroulia was due to face Ioanna Klapa and Maria Dimitropoulou on Thursday but her lawyer was not able to attend so she was allowed to put off her deposition until Tuesday.

Stathis Boukouras, the MP who left Golden Dawn earlier this year, is due to face magistrates today on charges of illegally possessing weapons.

Boukouras, who also faces charges of being part of a criminal organization, denies breaking the law.

The two prosecutors investigating the Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party in order to determine whether it constitutes a criminal organization are pushing ahead with the depositions of members of the party as the expiration of the 18-month period of their pre-trial custody is set to expire and they may have to be released.

Former Golden Dawn MP Chrysovalantis Alexopoulos has been given until June 16 to prepare himself to respond to charges of being part of a criminal gang.

Alexopoulos faced magistrates on Thursday but asked for an extension.

Stathis Boukouras [photo], a former Golden Dawn lawmaker currently in pretrial custody over charges of belonging to a criminal organization, faced a magistrate on Wednesday. He was granted an extension in order to respond to additional charges over illegal weapons ownership and was ordered to return on June 2.

 Lawmakers detained pending trial to get permission to attend immunity votes

Detained lawmakers of the ultra-right Golden Dawn party who face having their immunity to prosecution lifted are to be given permission to attend Parliament on the days that the House is due to discuss their cases, Kathimerini has learned.