Greek MP sues two female rivals he attacked on TV

The Greek extreme-right party spokesman who caused an uproar last week by slapping one female politician on live TV and throwing a glass of water on another has sued the two women as well as the television channel that hosted the news show.

The move by Ilias Kasidiaris, the 31-year-old spokesman for the extremist Golden Dawn party, is the latest twist in a bizarre political saga. Kasidiaris himself avoided an arrest warrant for the confrontation last Thursday, resurfacing late on Sunday after the warrant had expired.

Kasidiris appeared at an Athens court yesterday, flanked by other party members, to submit lawsuits against Communist Party candidate Liana Kanelli and Syriza party member Rena Dourou on charges of alleged unprovoked insults and against Antenna television for alleged illegal detention.

Authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Kasidiaris after he threw water over Dourou and then slapped Kanelli hard three times across the face during a heated discussion on a morning political show. A video of that show has been widely viewed on the internet.

Under Greek law, an arrest warrant for a misdemeanour must be carried out by midnight the day after the act has occurred, in which case a trial is immediate. Otherwise, the case turns into a judicial procedure in which a trial date is set, often months or even years later.

Kasidiaris laid low after the incident, but resurfaced on Sunday at the opening of a Golden Dawn office in an outlying part of Athens. No court date has been set yet for him.

Kasidiaris argues he was provoked by insults during the television show and that Kanelli, 58, hit him first with a newspaper.

The channel then cut to a commercial break and when the programme resumed, Kasidiaris was no longer there. Attempts were made to hold him in an office room while the police were called, but he broke through the door and left.

He said he was also suing a journalist at Antenna for “instigation to abuse of power” for allegedly provoking a prosecutor to order his arrest.

Kasidiaris had also been due to stand trial yesterday in a separate case, in which he is accused of participating in a 2007 attack on a student. The case was postponed to Sept 3. He faces charges of assisting in a robbery and bodily harm after his car was allegedly used in the incident. Kasidiaris claims the accusation is politically motivated by Syriza members.

Golden Dawn, which denies the neo-Nazi label, has been accused of violent attacks against immigrants in Athens.