Greek ex-Golden Dawn member arrested after immunity stripped

A former member of Greece's extreme right Golden Dawn party, Ioannis Lagos, was arrested on Tuesday after the European Parliament stripped him of his immunity. The decision by EU lawmakers to lift his immunity paved the way for his arrest by Belgian authorities and his extradition to Greece, where he is to serve his sentence. Lagos resigned from Golden Dawn in 2018.

A former member of Greece's extreme right Golden Dawn party, Ioannis Lagos, was arrested on Tuesday after the European Parliament stripped him of his immunity. Lagos, a member of the European Parliament, confirmed his arrest on Twitter, saying: "I'm in a Belgian police car. The thieves, atheists, anti-Greeks are taking me to jail. I remain faithful to Christ and Greece. I'm proud that I never bowed down. Long live Greece. Long live Orthodoxy."

The leaders of Golden Dawn were sentenced to prison last October by a Greek court for running a criminal gang linked to hate crimes during the country's deep economic crisis. Six former lawmakers, including Lagos and Golden Dawn leader Nikos Mihaloliakos, were handed down 13-year jail terms.

Lagos had escaped arrest by leaving for Brussels the day the verdict was announced. The decision by EU lawmakers to lift his immunity paved the way for his arrest by Belgian authorities and his extradition to Greece, where he is to serve his sentence.

Lagos resigned from Golden Dawn in 2018.