A Greek lawmaker faces criminal charges following a brawl in parliament

ATHENS, Greece — (AP) — Greece’s parliamentary speaker said that he would seek criminal charges against a lawmaker who allegedly punched a colleague during a debate on Wednesday.

The member of parliament, who hasn't been named, was suspended for 15 days after the fight, which occurred just outside the debate chamber and was witnessed by several colleagues.

“We can indict the perpetrator of this vile and barbaric attack, to charge him with a felony under a fast-track procedure,” Speaker Constantine Tassoulas said.

“Parliamentary immunity applies to misdemeanors, but not felonies,” he said, adding that he had instructed parliament’s police department to escort the lawmaker to prosecuting authorities.

Separately, Greece's Supreme Court later Wednesday excluded the small far-right Spartans from a list of political parties that fulfil the requirements to field candidates in the European Parliament election in June.

The court did not immediately explain the reasons why the party was left off the list. The decision followed a petition by three political parties to exclude the Spartans for alleged ties to the extreme-right Golden Dawn party, whose leading members were jailed in 2020 after being convicted of belonging to a criminal organization.

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