Greek neo-Nazi lawmaker who punched female MP acquitted

A lawmaker from Greece's neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn who punched another member of parliament during a televised election debate in 2012 was acquitted by an Athens court on Friday.
Ilias Kasidiaris, who is also a spokesman for the far-right party, hit Communist lawmaker Liana Kanelli three times in the June 2012 debate.
He avoided punishment because he had not inflicted "serious injury", the court said.
He could not be prosecuted for simply slapping the lawmaker because she did not register a complaint within the required time limit, the court ruled.
The neo-Nazi activist had first thrown a glass of water at a lawmaker from the radical left Syriza party who was also participating in the debate.
When Kanelli, who had been sitting next to him got up to protest, he turned towards her, slapped her twice and then threw a punch before leaving the studio.
During the hearing, the prosecutor said that it was not appropriate for a man to beat a woman, but Kasidiaris refused to apologise for his actions unless his victim did the same.
Despite the outrage that the incident provoked, the party entered parliament for the first time in 2012 winning 18 of 300 seats.
The leadership of Golden Dawn is facing trial on charges including murder.
Party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and MP Christos Pappas have been in custody since September 2013 on accusations of being part of "a criminal gang," after an anti-fascist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, was stabbed to death by a party member in a murder that shocked Greece.
A huge police investigation into the party led to the arrest of many of its leaders and some MPs, more than half of whom have since been charged.
Despite the criminal investigation, support for Golden Dawn remained steady in the general election on January 25, when it came third, winning 17 seats.