The 31-year-old said: “I will press charges for provocation,” alleging that the on-air punch up – in which he slapped the KKE communist party’s spokeswoman, Liana Kanelli, and threw a glass of water at Rena Dourou, a leading member of the Syriza party – had been a “set up”.
Kasidiaris, spokesman for the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, has also accused the media of plotting and working with state prosecutor Eleni Raikou, presumably with an end to damaging the reputation of Golden Dawn.
He appeared before a public prosecutor in Athens to make the claims, having failed to show up in court earlier in the day to answer charges of complicity relating to an unrelated attack on a postgraduate student five years ago.
Kasidiaris said that he would also be pressing charges against TV channel Antenna, claiming that it attempted to “illegally restrain” him following the chat show incident.
According to reports, staff at the TV station tried to keep Kasidiaris in the building after he fled the studio. It is said that the Greek politician threatened Antenna staff and took photos of them on his mobile phone before managing to flee the building. He then disappeared until an arrest warrant issued against him for suspected grievous bodily harm expired today.
See a video of the assault here.
Image: Getty
