Unprecedented scenes in the Greek Parliament: A independent MP punched and insulted a fellow lawmaker from another opposition party. Both lawmakers are members of the conservative far-right.
Attacker MP Konstantinos Floros was elected to the Parliament on the Spartans ticket and supporter of ex Golden Dawn No 2, Ilias Kassidiaris. Police arrested Floros on the spot right after the attack and took him Police Headquarters.
Victim Vassilis Grammenos, MP of Greek Solution (Elliniki Lysi Ελληνική Λύση), was taken to the hospital to receive first aid.
During the fight in Parliament colonnade short around Wednesday noon, Floros punched his colleague and threw him to the floor in a violent manner.
via parapolitica.gr
Floros reportedly claimed that he reacted this way because Grammenos allegedly insulted his family and precisely his mother and he also allegedly threatened to send him to prison.
The Parliament’s guards were immediately mobilized with the police trying to calm the spirits.
The incident took place during the discussion on the lifting of immunity of Greek Solution leader Kyriakos Velopoulos following a defamation lawsuit filed by Floros’ father.
Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas described the incident as brutal and ordered Floros to be removed from all parliamentary proceedings for 15 days in accordance with the Parliament regulations.
Furthermore, Tasoulas ordered that Floros should be immediately handed over to law enforcement authorities and face criminal charges of assaulting a member of Parliament. He noted that Parliamentary immunity does not apply in the case of violent criminal offenses committed in flagranti.
The MP has been arrested on the basis of being caught in the act of perpetrating violence against the body politic or the government and is being led to the central police headquarters.
Floros is expected to be charged in fast-track process (aftoforo) according to which a fast hearing takes place when an arrest is made within 48 hours after an alleged crime has been committed.
The independent MP is reportedly to be charged with felony and thus for violating article 157 of the Criminal Code, according to which it is a felony to attack against a member of parliament during the performance of his duties.
The attacker could face imprisonment of up to 10-15 years, Mega TV reported.
Worth noting that the brutal incident took place just a few hours before the Supreme Court and the Electoral Court decide on the fate of the “Spartans” and their seats in the Parliament and the party’s participation to the European elections in June.
As the pool of conservative Greek voters is quite big, the struggle for their votes may turn even uglier in the very near future.
