The suspension of the state funding of the Golden Dawn party, which took place in 2013 due to the party’s legal problems, was found constitutional, lawful and in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), according to yesterday’s decision of the Council of State Plenary.

As highlighted in the Plenary’s thinking, “the possible involvement of members of a political party’s leadership, which given their nature as legal entities clearly define the party’s activities, in criminal actions of Articles 187 and 187A of the Penal Code [editor’s note: formation of a criminal or terrorist organization etc.] and in light of the nature of the offenses and its conjunction with the smooth function of the democratic regime, constitutes a serious reason that makes the suspension of the state funding to the party in question constitutionally tolerable; given the fact that the suspension is of a personal nature, until the constitutionally competent penal tribunals decide irrevocably on the matter, its enforcement may be questioned with a petition for annulment before the Council of State”.

According to the Plenary of the Council of State, the suspension of the state funding “constitutes a temporary administrative measure of precautionary nature, which aims at the avoidance of providing state funds to a political party, since there are serious indications of its leadership committing punishable actions of articles 187 and 187A of the Penal Code and consequently the possibility of direct or indirect use of these funds to support criminal activities”.