Nikos Michaloliakos
Nikos Michaloliakos, leader of the neo-Nazi group (Reuters) Reuters

The Greek parliament has lifted immunity from prosecution on six neo-Nazi Golden Dawn MPs in a criminal case triggered by the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas, nicknamed Killah P.

The parliamentary motion passed unanimously as Golden Dawn lawmakers walked out of the room before the vote.

Three others party members, including the leader Nikos Michaloliakos have been jailed pending trial on charges of running a criminal organisation.

Killah P was stabbed to death outside a café in the Keratsini area west of Athens.

Police arrested a 45-year-old supporter of Golden Dawn, George Roupakias, over the killing and raided party headquarters in the Greek capital. Another 21 people linked to the extremist movement were held by authorities and arrest warrants issued for 10 more.

Prosecutors alleged that the attack against Fyssas was premeditated and the party leadership knew about the murder, as Golden Dawn operates according to a strict hierarchical command structure.

Meanwhile, one neo-Nazi member who is already in custody on separate charges, has told investigators that he believes some of the Golden Dawn party MPs were involved in gun smuggling.

Lawmaker Ilias Panagiotaros was in charge of vans that were used to move firearms, mostly handguns and M16 rifles, according to the man.

Last July, police found a van in Piraeus which had seven Kalashnikov assault rifles, a handgun, bullets and grenades.

A poll released last week by RASS for the Typos Tis Kyriakis newspaper found that eight out of 10 Greeks think the charges of belonging to a criminal group were justified.

Fifty-one percent said they were happy with the government's handling of the case while 35 percent were not.