Artemis Sorras, the founder of the ultranationalist fringe part Convention of Greeks, was released from prison on Friday after serving 2 years and five months of his six year sentence.
Sorras had put through to the judicial council a petition for release from the the penitentiary of Halkida. The petition was accepted with restrictions on his movement in place.
Sorras was found guilty of fraud charges and encouraging Greek citizens not to pay their tax and social security dues. According to his sentencing hearing, Sorras attempted to defraud the Greek state of billions of euros by claiming to be able to pay off the country’s national debt in exchange for low-rate returns and bonds as collateral.
The impact of his campaign on state coffers remained unclear, though authorities found thousands of “Sorras payment slips” at Greek tax offices.
He had also spent 18 months in pretrial detention.
