A Greek far-right politician convicted and jailed for co-leading a once-powerful party later declared a criminal organisation was released on Tuesday and signalled a political comeback ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.

Ilias Kasidiaris, 46, was a spokesperson and lawmaker for Golden Dawn, which became the third-largest political force at the height of Greece’s 2009-2018 debt crisis on an anti-austerity and anti-migration agenda.

In 2020, the far-right, neo-Nazi party was declared a criminal group linked to hate crimes, including the killing of an anti-fascist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas. Kasidiaris was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison for being one of its leaders.

Dressed casually, Kasidiaris left a prison in central Greece on Tuesday to cheers from supporters waving Greek flags. He was released after serving about six years of his sentence, including credits for prison labour and time spent in custody.

Despite Greek law barring parties led by convicted felons from running in elections, Kasidiaris has signalled a return to politics, saying he plans to launch a party to challenge what he called a corrupt establishment.

“I’m returning today, and from what I see I’m not alone; with me is a new, strong national party, like those that dominate throughout Europe,” he told reporters after his release.

Hard-right parties are gaining ground around Europe.

In Germany, thousands of demonstrators rallied in Berlin last week against the rise of the far-right after the Alternative for Germany (AfD), leading in national surveys, surged into first place in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt.

Kasidiaris, who attacked two female politicians during a live TV show in 2012, had in the past founded an ultra-nationalist party, Hellenes, which was banned from the 2023 national elections.

He later publicly endorsed another nationalist party, the Spartans, also barred from the European election ballot while its three lawmakers later lost their parliamentary seats on evidence that Kasidiaris guided the party from jail.