Head of Greek extreme far-right Golden Dawn party is granted early release from prison

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The head of Greece’s extreme far-right Golden Dawn party has been granted conditional early release from prison. He had been serving a 13-year sentence for running a criminal organization blamed for numerous violent hate crimes. A council of judges accepted the request by Nikolaos Michaloliakos, 66, who had served the minimal legal requirement for conditional release. The decision also took into consideration that he was aged over 65 — which increases the time he is formally considered to have served — in poor health and had spent 18 months in pre-trial detention. He was released Thursday.