Neo-Nazi party arranged attacks on immigrants
Print Edition
Greece’s Golden Dawn neo-Nazi party regularly organized “assault militias” in which dozens of members would ride the streets on motorbikes, hitting immigrants with sticks, according to a government report and testimonies cited in the Greek press yesterday.
“I took part several times in activities involving 50 or 60 motorbikes, with two people on each. The one who was sitting behind held a stick with the Greek flag and hit all the Pakistanis he could see,” one ex-member said in court testimony.
Greek police arrested the controversial party’s founder Nikos Michaloliakos, five prominent Golden Dawn lawmakers and more than a dozen other suspected members — including police officers — amid high tensions following the murder of anti-fascist musician Pavlos Fyssas, allegedly stabbed to death by a self-confessed Golden Dawn supporter on September 18.
Testimonies from two former members, along with a report by an examining magistrate revealed a series of “criminal acts” by the group, press reports said.
Golden Dawn has a “strictly hierarchical structure, the leader is all-powerful following the principle used by Hitler,” said the report by the deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Charalambos Vourliotis.
The neo-Nazi party started its attacks in 1987, the report said, initially targeting immigrants and then turning against Greeks.
The magistrate’s report said party members were trained in military style and had allegedly committed dozens of criminal acts, including voluntary homicide.
Police yesterday continued their raids on Golden Dawn premises, searching for hidden arms supplies.
A search of the home of Golden Dawn deputy leader Christos Pappas in Ioannina turned up photographs of Adolf Hitler, swastikas and German army helmets, reports said.
The justice ministry said it would table emergency legislation to stop the flow of state funds to the neo-Nazi party.
“Democracy cannot be funding its opponents,” said Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
