ATHENS — Greek political parties represented in parliament welcomed the verdict of the Athens Appeals Court on Golden Dawn, recognizing that its founders and leaders ran a criminal organization, and sentencing the members of the entire former parliamentary group in a landmark case on Wednesday.

Tsipras: Today is a great day for our democracy

"Today is a great day for our democracy," said main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras after the Appeals Court announced its verdict in the Golden Dawn case on Wednesday. "They never were innocent. They knew it and we knew it. Today, Greek Justice confirmed this in a historic decision. It is a great day for our democracy, a day of vindication and pride," said the main opposition leader.

Tsipras also said that we should be grateful to those people that did not give up and had fought to bring things to this outcome: "To the witnesses for the prosecution, the lawyers and every citizen that marched with the anti-fascist movement. Our greatest thanks, however, we owe to Magda Fyssa, for her insistent and lonely struggle for the last seven years. For her son Pavlos, and for our children, so they can live in this country without the violence and the poison of fascism."

Justice for the victims and democracy, Gennimata says

Opposition Movement for Change (KINAL) leader Fofi Gennimata on Wednesday expressed her satisfaction over the court decision in the case of Golden Dawn.

"Golden Dawn is a criminal organisation, according to the historic decision of Greek justice. Justice for the victims and democracy," Gennimata said and stressed that "Greece again sends a strong message to Europe and the world: There is no room for fascism in our lives. Our struggle continues. Together we will end the neo-Nazis."

KKE's Koutsoubas: Guilty verdict should be accompanied with exemplary punishment

"The court, guided by the truth, as this was shown by a host of evidence, today penally condemned the murderers of Golden Dawn. This guilty verdict should be accompanied by the exemplary punishment of the guilty with the highest possible sentences and of course, they must go to jail," stated Communist Party of Greece (KKE) leader Dimitris Koutsoubas after the historic ruling of the Appeals Court on Wednesday on Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi).

He said that no complacency is permitted as the connections and tentacles of the Nazis were revealed during the trial, "that make them even more dangerous."

The most important thing is for the people to uproot the evil with the reversal of the system that incubates the egg of the snake, nazism and facism," added Koutsoumbas.

MeRA25 on Golden Dawn verdict: A moment of unspeakable joy for all democrats

"The moment when the guilty verdict for Nazi Golden Dawn was announced was a moment of unspeakable joy for all democrats," opposition MeRA25 said in an announcement on Wednesday.

The party also condemned an incident between the party leader Yanis Varoufakis and a member of the police force outside the appeals court on Wednesday, saying that it was "clear that the pro-Nazi enclaves that still lurk within the police (…) are far from being eliminated but have become stronger with Chrisochoidis as minister."

It accused police of turning water cannons on the crowd just "nanoseconds" after it started clapping at the announcement of the verdict, followed up by tear gas "without the slightest provocation".

MeRA25 called on the prime minister to demand the immediate resignation of Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis and the removal of all officers responsible for the MAT riot police on Alexandras Avenue on Wednesday.