The 12 former MPs of the Spartans party and the imprisoned former Golden Dawn MP, Ilias Kasidiaris, were unanimously acquitted of the charge of voter fraud, with the Three-Member Criminal Court of Athens issuing a new acquittal.
This is the second time the Court has found the defendants not guilty of this specific offense – a similar decision was made at first instance.
The case was retried after the Court of Appeals filed an ex officio appeal against the first-instance decision. Thus, the 12 former MPs and Ilias Kasidiaris returned to court, facing the same charges.
The court, however, again ruled that the crime of voter fraud was not proven, resulting in a unanimous acquittal.
The judicial investigation into the case began following an investigation by former Supreme Court prosecutor Georgia Adeilini, which was based on public statements by the then president of the Spartans, Vasilis Stigkas, regarding the existence of a hidden leadership in the party.
The Spartans entered parliament in the June 2023 national elections, winning around 4.7% of the vote and initially securing 12 seats.
It was investigated primarily for alleged electoral fraud and deception of voters, stemming from claims that the party was effectively controlled from prison by Ilias Kasidiaris, who was convicted in 2020 for leading a criminal organization, rather than by its president, Vasilis Stigkas.
Ilias Kasidiaris openly endorsed the Spartans from jail after his own party, Greeks for the Fatherland, was barred from running, leading to suspicions that the Spartans served as a proxy to circumvent bans on groups linked to Golden Dawn.
In April 2024, Greece’s Supreme Court prosecutor indicted 11 Spartans MPs, Kasidiaris, and a lawyer on charges of voter deception, alleging that voters were misled about the party’s true leadership. The Supreme Court also barred the Spartans from participating in the June 2024 European Parliament elections on similar grounds.
In early 2025, parliament suspended the party’s state funding amid ongoing probes. A June 2025 ruling by a special electoral tribunal (the Special Highest Court) found that electoral fraud had occurred by deceiving voters about leadership and stripped three MPs, including Stigkas, of their seats.
The Spartans party has denied being a front for Kasidiaris or Golden Dawn, and has once again been vindicated in the court’s ruling.
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