Independent member of the Greek Parliament Konstantinos Floros beat up member of the right-wing Greek Solution party Vasilis Grammenos, for which he was arrested and faces up to 10 years in prison, Greek public television ERT reported.
The attacker, MP Konstantinos Floros, was elected to parliament from the Spartans party and is a supporter of former Golden Dawn No. 2 Ilias Kassidiaris. Police arrested Floros on the spot immediately after the attack and took him to police headquarters.
The victim, Vassilis Grammenos, a member of the Greek Solution (Elliniki Lysi Ελληνική Λύση) MP, was taken to hospital for first aid.
During a fight in the parliament colonnade around noon on Wednesday, Floros punched his colleague and forced him to the floor.
Floros claimed that he reacted this way because Grammenos allegedly insulted his family and specifically his mother, and also allegedly threatened to send him to prison.
Parliament security was immediately mobilized, and police tried to calm the heated legislators.
The incident occurred during a discussion on lifting the immunity of the leader of the Greek Solution. Kyriakos Velopoulos following a defamation suit filed by Floros' father.
Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas called the incident brutal and ordered Floros to be suspended from all parliamentary proceedings for 15 days, in accordance with parliamentary rules of procedure.
In addition, Tasoulas ordered the immediate transfer of Floros to law enforcement authorities and the filing of criminal charges against him for assaulting a member of parliament. He noted that parliamentary immunity does not apply in cases of violent criminal offenses committed in flagranti.
The deputy was arrested on the grounds that he was caught in the act of committing violence against a political figure or government, and was sent to the detention center of the Athens Central Police Department.
Floros is expected to be charged under the expedited process (aftoforo), under which an expedited hearing occurs when an arrest is made within 48 hours of the alleged crime.
The independent MP has reportedly been charged with a criminal offense and therefore in violation of Article 157 of the Criminal Code, which makes it a criminal offense to assault a Member of Parliament while performing his or her duties.
The attacker could face up to 10-15 years in prison, Mega TV reports.
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