Golden Dawn rally demands release of jailed party leader About 2,000 supporters of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party staged a rally outside its offices in central Athens on Saturday night after riot police blocked a group of anti-fascist demonstrators from marching on the building. Police buses were parked across a main road to keep the rival groups apart and the anti-fascists dispersed without incident. Politicians are crooks and traitors . . . Golden Dawn will win," the crowd shouted, waving blue and white Greek flags to emphasise the party's nationalist credentials, instead of the red flags with a black emblem resembling a swastika that usually appear at party events. The rally, held to demand the immediate release from jail of Nikos Mihaloliakos, the party leader, and two other Golden Dawn lawmakers attracted a smaller turnout than expected, reflecting a sharp decline in its popularity following a crackdown by the government. "We came to show support but other people in our apartment building who voted for Golden Dawn were unwilling because of the recent events," said a woman who gave her name as Angeliki. We don't feel ashamed . . . we're nationalists not Nazis. Mr Mihaloliakos and his colleagues were jailed in September to await trial on charges of running a criminal organisation following the fatal stabbing of an anti-fascist rapper by a self-confessed Golden Dawn supporter. As the crowd cheered, Ilias Kasidiaris, the party spokesman, demanded "the immediate release of our party leader and his colleagues who have been wrongfully imprisoned . . . Golden Dawn is a legitimate political party. Parliament voted this week to cancel state funding for Golden Dawn, while four more lawmakers have been stripped of their parliamentary immunity from prosecution. Prosecutors are investigating dozens of racist attacks by alleged Golden Dawn supporters, mainly against Pakistani immigrants, as well as the party's alleged involvement in protection rackets and weapons smuggling.