Greek supreme court upholds ban on far-right party ‘to protect democracy’

Extremist Hellenes party dubbed successor of now defunct Golden Dawn, whose neo-Nazi leaders are serving jail terms

A decision to disqualify a far-right group from participating in Greece's forthcoming general election was taken in the interests of safeguarding democracy, the country's supreme court has said.

The nation's highest legal body said the extremist Hellenes party was clearly the successor" of the now defunct Golden Dawn, whose neo-Nazi leaders are serving jail terms for crimes ranging from murder to assault.