Prosecutor brings treason charges against extreme-right MP

Ioanna Mandrou

A deputy Supreme Court prosecutor in Athens charged a lawmaker of extreme-right Golden Dawn with preparatory acts to commit treason, after he called for a military coup during a speech in parliament on Friday.

Speaking in a debate on a no-confidence motion brought against the government by New Democracy over a deal achieved with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on its name, Konstantinos Barbarousis accused the government of failing to protect Greece's interests and called on the army to intervene.

"As the country's political leadership is not legislating in the nation's interests but in its own, I call on the country's military leadership to respect its oath and to arrest Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, [Defence Minister] Panos Kammenos and [President] Prokopis Pavlopoulos to avert this treason," he said.

The file was sent to the investigative magistrate who has the authority to issue an arrest warrant.

Barbarousis was later expelled from his party by leader Nikos Michaloliakos.

Tsipras and his FYROM counterpart Zoran Zaev are scheduled to sign the agreement in Prespes, northern Greece, this Sunday.

The crime of treason does not require the prosecutor to ask parliament to lift the lawmaker's immunity.

Barbarousis' tirade prompted the parliamentary speaker to ban the far-right party from any further discussions on the no-confidence motion and to accuse Golden Dawn of inciting violence.