Golden Dawn MP expelled from Greek parliament
Uproar erupts in the Greek parliament as an MP from the far-right Golden Dawn party is expelled amid shouts of “Heil Hitler”.
Panagiotis Iliopoulos was told to leave the chamber after referring to Alexis Tsipras, leader of the left-wing Syriza party, as “Mr Alexis”, a disrespectful form of address in Greece.
The 46-year-old politician shoued: “You are goats, you are jokers”, before leaving the chamber.
There were also cries of “Heil Hitler”, but it is not clear if they came from Golden Dawn MPs or left-wingers insulting them.
Syriza said the Nazi slogan was shouted by Golden Dawn MPs. This was denied by Golden Dawn, which said it had come from Syriza MPs.
It is the first expulsion of an MP for more than 20 years. Golden Dawn described it as an act of “unprecedented censorship”.
Anti-immigrant
In last year’s Greek elections, Golden Dawn won 18 seats after capitalising on anti-immigrant sentiment in the midst of public spending cuts.
In March, Channel 4 News broadcast a film about Golden Dawn which revealed that members of the party were violent, racist and anti-semitic.
Greece’s conservative-led government is drafting anti-racism legislation in an effort to rein in the party, which it says abuses parliamentary immunity to incite racial hatred with anti-immigrant speeches.
“We’re not obliged to listen to their hate speeches,” Speaker Yannis Dragasakis said on Friday. “You will not beat nationalism with any legislation,” Mr Iliopoulos replied.