The trials against Golden Dawn (or Chrysi Avgi) have at last begun. In April 2015, sixty-nine individuals from the Greek fascist party were charged with founding a criminal organization, being a member of a criminal organization, performing criminal actions, and a number of other minor charges. The most serious of these charges relates to the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, a prominent left-wing activist and musician.

Two years ago, the party was at its peak; it was represented in parliament and felt powerful enough to carry out a range of violent attacks against migrants and leftists. Massive protests against the party, especially after the murder of Fyssas, forced the authorities to react. The first arrests of Golden Dawn members came in September 2013. Activists embedded in mass movements have been able to use the trials to illustrate the party’s violent and anti-democratic nature.

From the beginning Golden Dawn Watch has been there to monitor this legal process and educate the public about the situation. Freelance journalist and communist Alp Kayserilioğlu recently sat down with Golden Dawn Watch lawyer Ilias Tsampardoukas to discuss why Golden Dawn could grow undisturbed for so long, the basis of the trials, and the prospects for defeating fascism in Greece.