Hundreds show up in solidarity at Athens Courthouse as Golden Dawn hound Jewish intellectual and political activist Savvas Michael-Matsas

“I’m the embodiment of every fascist’s fantasy. I’m a Jew, a communist – and a heretical communist, a Trotskyist, at that. I don’t fit anywhere. The only thing I happen not to be is homosexual.”

–Savvas Michael-Matsas

In the morning of September 2nd, the Athens Courthouse saw the trial of Savvas Michael-Matsas and Kostantinos Moutzouris. Moutzouris is the ex-vice chancellor of the Athens Polytechnic. Michael-Matsas is the secretary general of the trotskyist Revolutionary Workers’ Party (EEK). What do they hold in common? They have both been sued by members of the Nazi Golden Dawn, accused of “libelous defamation,” “incitement to violence and civil discord”, and “disturbing the public peace”. All the charges were brought against them by members of the Golden Dawn – including, astonishingly, Themis Skordeli – a lead hate figure in Agios Panteleimonas, herself accused in a series of trials of grave bodily harm.

Moutzouris was sued because of his role as a vice-chancellor of the Athens Polytechnic, at the time when this hosted the Athens Indymedia servers. Michael-Matsas was sued because of the anti-fascist slogans chanted by members of the EEK in May 2009. By upholding the GD suing and bringing the case to court, the Greek “justice” system has scored a Europe-wide first in persecuting anti-fascist discourse.

In response, hundreds of anti-fascists gathered in solidarity outside the Athens Courthouse this morning. Inside the courts, the persecuting “witnesses” (Skordeli and the now GD MP, Panagiotaros), were nowhere to be seen.

The trial continues; more updates as they come.