An update on neonazi trial – Plevris condemned

On December the 13th the Athens Appeals Judicial Council condemned known nazi lover Plevris to 14 months of imprisonment for promoting racist violence and racist remarks in his book «Jews, the whole truth«. This conviction was the end result of a trial which became a mockery of the greek justice system and showed how deeply ingrained is antisemitism even in places which supposedly should be a safe-heaven.

The merit for the result goes primarily to the AntiNazi Initiative and the Greek Helsinki Monitor, two Human Rights organisations who are the striking exceptions in the depressing world of greek NGO’s who deal with Human Rights. Merit also goes to many people on the Internet who feel that the fascist/nazis are gaining ground after the entry in the greek Parliament of the antisemitic/racist party of LAOS.

The merit certainly does not go the Central Board of the Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS)which made key mistakes in handling this trial and certainly failed to show even a tiny percent of the passion that the aforementioned NGO’s showed. Their failure to respond adequately certainly casts a heavy shadow on the correctness of policies pursued until today by the KIS.

In any case reading the transcripts of the trial and seeing how all of the other defendants were acquitted I get a strange feeling; that this conviction was dictated by the need to avoid the international scandal the acquittal of a known nazi who openly advocated the physical elimination of jews. The court was openly in favour of the defendants and there was an impressive lack of information in greek newspapers and especially in greek TV which at the same time had no trouble occupying itself with everything else except the question of antisemitism and racism in Greece.

This court order should not act as a fig-leaf and a pretext that antisemitism is persecuted in Greece and is condemned by the greek society – for this is false. Let’s not forget that there’s the civil trial which follows the penal one which has just been concluded.

Keeping these things in mind I find myself totally in agreement with the announcement, (link in greek), the AntiNazi Initiative made and I wish to thank them together with the Helsinki Monitor and countless other bloggers for showing me, a greek jew, that there are still parts of the greek society which are still unpoisoned.

For more info in greek one can visit the Jungle-Report, a blog in greek with exceelnt coverage of the Plevris trial.