Christos Pappas, deputy leader of Greece’s neo-Nazi political party Golden Dawn, has been arrested in Athens.
The extreme alt-right former lawmaker was found overnight being sheltered in a flat in the Zografou district before he was transferred to the anti-terrorism unit at Attica General Police Directorate.
He is the last of the Golden Dawn group to evade justice and will face the 13-year prison sentence he has dodged since it was handed down in October.
His 52-year-old Ukrainian accomplice was also arrested and will face court on charges of aiding and abetting a criminal on Friday, according to Proto Thema.
Their apartment building was put under surveillance last week after police received a tip-off that he had been sheltered there since the ruling, local media reported.
Pappas has been on-the-run as a fugitive listed by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and was last seen at his local police station before he and six others were found guilty of running a criminal organisation.
Pappas had been released from pre-trial custody after being held for 18 months and escaped shortly before the ruling.
A police raid on his home in western Attica following the ruling found two swastika flags, two German army helmets and bottles stamped with images of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
The landmark trial sentenced more than 50 Golden Dawn defendants on charges including murder, assault, and illegal weapons possession.
The murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas was catalyst to the trial which began in 2015 where the court accepted that the openly xenophobic and antisemitic group targeted dissidents and roamed the streets while armed.
Pappas and Golden Dawn founder and longterm leader Nikos Michaloliakos were sentenced to 13 years in jail.
Source: AP News, The Guardian
