Ex-Golden Dawn Members Reveal how Greek Neo-Nazi Party Organised 'Assault Militias' to Hunt Down Immigrants in the Street
- Golden Dawn members would ride in convoys of 50-60 motorbikes
- Brandishing sticks and flags they would attack immigrants in the street
- Greek neo-nazi party's violent culture revealed as leaders are arrested
- Leader Nikos Michaloliakos and five Golden Dawn MPs in custody
Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party regularly organised violent street raids where members on motorbikes would hunt immigrants with sticks, ex-members have revealed.
The party practice of 'assault militias' would see Golden Dawn supporters ride in pairs on motorcycles, brandishing sticks, and striking 'all the Pakistanis they could see', according to a report.
The evidence of the extreme right-wing party's culture of racial violence came to light mere days after the leader of Golden Dawn was arrested on charges of forming a criminal organisation.
Extreme violence: Former members of Greek extreme-right ultra nationalist party
Golden Dawn have revealed party's systematic violent attacks on immigrants (file photo)
In a court testimony published yesterday, one former Golden Dawn supporter spoke of 'military style' training of party members and of the 'assault militias' as a regular occurrence.
‘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,’ the ex-member said in court testimony.
Testimonies from two former members, along with a report by an examining magistrate revealed a series of ‘criminal acts’ by the party, including voluntary homicide and attempted homicide.
The report revealed party members are trained in military style and had allegedly committed dozens of criminal acts, including voluntary homicide and attempted homicide.
Facing Dawn: Party leader Nikos Michaloliakos, centre, is escorted by anti-terror police
following his arrest on charges of forming a criminal organisation
Under arrest: Golden Dawn MP Ilias Panagiotaros, who famously promised to throw 'immigrants and
their children' out of hospitals if his party won the election, is taken into custody
Silenced: Golden Dawn party spokesman Ilias Kassidiaris, centre, shouts as he leaves
the Greek police headquarters in Athens on Saturday
Last week, police arrested the controversial party's leader Nikos Michaloliakos and five other Golden Dawn MPs, including party spokesman Ilias Kassidiaris, amid high tensions following the murder of a left-wing rapper by a Golden Dawn supporter.
Described as ‘a neo-Nazi party with a history of violence which makes Nick Griffin look like Julie Andrews,’ by New Statesman writer Alex Andreou, Golden Dawn began systemised attacks as early as 1987.
They initially targeted immigrants, before turning against Greek-born nationals who disagreed with the party's extreme-right opinions, the report said.
Golden Dawn, Chrissi Avgi in Greek, has a ‘strictly hierarchical structure, the leader is all-powerful following the principle used by Hitler,’ deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Charalambos Vourliotis, said in the report.
Riot response: Protesters run in the street as they clash with police in Thessaloniki,
following the stabbing of rapper Pavlos Fissas by a Golden Dawn member
Police on Monday continued their raids on Golden Dawn premises, searching for hidden arms supplies.
Last week's arrests were the result of some of the about 35 arrest warrants for Golden Dawn members have been issued, Greek police said.
Police said the counterterrorism unit was investigating the party in connection with the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fissas, 34, by a 45-year-old Golden Dawn member.
Mr Fissas, who appeared under stage name Killah P, was stabbed to death in the Athens district of Keratsini on September 17, sparking violent anti-fascist protests across Greece.
continued......The Hunt for Nazi Criminals Continues Today