Extremist attacks and murders of migrants in Athens 2006-2012

Alert DateMay 10, 2011 Country: Greece Address: Athens Racism and discrimination phenomena: Extremism - organised Racist Violence, Anti-migrant/xenophobia, Islamophobia, Xenophobia
General Type: Racist violence, Racist discourse, Hate crime Groups affected / Interested in: Migrants, Refugees, Muslims, Religious minorities, Asylum seekers Strands: Racism Key Areas: Political Parties-organisations - Racist & Xenophobic Discourse, Policing - Law Enforcement - Justice, Racist violence - Hate Speech Statistics

Timeline

  • Immigrants attacked by far-right extremists in Athens

    On May 15th and 16th unidentified neofascist groups attacked immigrants with knifes, stones and improvised weapons in N.Kosmos and Daphne Athens suburbs while an arson attack against an immigrant's store in N.Kosmos took place too. Source: Indymedia 18.05.2006

  • Two immigrants attacked by far-right extremists after the defeat of the national basketball team

    A 22 years old Palestinian and one 50 years old Bangladeshi immigrants have been victims of brutal attack and beatings by unidentified Greeks who, according to media reports, were participating at a rally of the “Galazia Stratia” extreme right-wing and sport oriented association, after the unexpected defeat of the Greek basketball team at the World Championship final on 3.9.2006. The newspapers refer to the incident as one more case of the ‘usual hunt of the immigrant’ after a ...

  • Extremists assaults on Pakistani immigrants in Renti (Piraeus)

    During the last quarter of 2007, extreme-right wing bikers in military clothes have repeatedly attacked settlings and apartments of, mostly Pakistani, immigrants in the municipality of Renti (within the wider Piraeus area). In one of those incidents, 8 Pakistani immigrants were attacked, among which 5 were bodily harmed by people armed with bats, chains and knives who broke into  their house. One of the 5 victims, Housman Zafar was subsequently arrested for being illegally in the co...

  • Neo-Nazi attacks on migrants in Athens

    With the occasion of the 7th Greek youth festival of extreme right wing groups, a number of racist and violent attacks occurred against immigrants and Greek students. According to eye witnesses, the violent groups were composed by Greek and also foreign (Russians and Germans) neo-Nazis: On 27.10.2007 at the centre of Athens (Syntagma metro station), a group of extreme right-wing organisation members insulted and inflicted physical injuries to a Moroccan immigrant. Metro passengers present during the att...

  • Attacks from far-right extremists on Pakistani immigrants

    The Pakistani family who suffered organised racist attacks in November 2007 have been attacked again by a far-right group in their home. However, this time neighbours and antiracist activists intervened to protect them and keep them safe, while once again the police allegedly arrived on site after a 40’ delay. During the same week (15/01/2008), a 22-year-old Pakistani immigrant was beaten by three young Greeks in the Athens city centre. Two of them were arrested and reportedly declared only ...

  • Far-right groups activity intensifies in downgraded urban area of Athens

    The public debates prior to the European Parliament Elections of 2009 have focused on Athens migrant ghettos, therefore about the residence of migrants in unsanitary conditions in some areas of Athens such as Aghios Panteleimonas Aharnon, led to self-organised ‘committees of residents’ against the presence of migrants. Ultra-right wing groups (in particular Chryssi Avgi – ‘Golden Dawn’) participated in such committees of outraged Greek citizens. Ιn some cases they obstruc...

  • Racist attacks by organised far-right groups against migrants in Aegaleo and Renti (Athens)

    Racist attacks against migrants in Aegaleo and Renti area have been reported once again in March 2009. Police arrested two men, suspected of being part in a gang that had recently been mugging Pakistanis. Officers said that they believe another eight suspects were involved in at least six attacks that led to victims having their money and mobile phones stolen.   Source: Kathimerini English Edition, Aegaleo muggers, 9.3.2009, http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_po...

  • Racist violence emergency in Crete

    In Crete and in particular in Chania, a number of serious racist incidents, some of which very violent (impaled Albanian migrant), were unofficially recorded and widely reported in the media. Perpetrators were organised far-right violent groups. Immigrants, Jews and natives supporting migrants have been targeted victims of such attacks. An arson attack against Jewish synagogue-monuments caused the prompt reaction of the political actors in condemning anti-semitism and police investigated thorough...

  • Economic crisis, racist violence and hate speech in Athens

    In the Athens center right wing civil militia groups sporadically exercises violence against migrants and especially against street petty sellers. Moreover, according to allegations by passers by municipal and regular police often abuses against these migrants once stopped or arrested. Such violence has significantly increased in view of to the new citizenship law which introduced a priority path for citizenship to children of migrants. Local shop owners supported such violent incidents by claiming that...

  • Greek government spokesperson announces the building of a mosque in Athens

    The Greek Government spokesperson has announced that the mosque of Athens will be finally built in application of the law n. 3512/2006, in the centre of Athens (Votanikos area) and will be financed exclusively by the state budget and no other source of funding will be accepted. The mosque much needed for Muslim residents of the Greek capital will be run by a 7 member committee, two of which will be individuals proposed by recognised Muslim associations in Greece and five will be state officials. The o...

  • Racist violent attacks in the Athens centre and throughout Greece

    The long lasting tension of racist violent attacks in the Athens centre and other locations throughout the country, appears further escalated during the recent major financial crisis development in Greece. Shootings, arson attacks and beatings, mostly by organised far right groups have occurred mosly against migrants from Middle East. After a similar attack a food delivery motorbike worker Pakistani migrant was killed in the centre of Athens.   Source: TVXS, περίεργη δολοφονία μεταν...

  • Racist violent attacks in the Athens centre by extremists and local residents

    The intolerance towards immigrants in some Athens-centre districts (Aghios Panteleimonas and Attiki square), projected on the mainstream media as “Citizen initiatives”, has given rise to racist violent attacks by organised far right groups together with local inhabitants. Armed thefts, arson attacks, beatings, verbal threats and one sexual abuse are pointed mostly on Afghan and Bangladeshi migrants. Sources: Kathimerini, Κακοποίηση ανήλικου Αφγανού, 10.8.2010, http://news.kath...

  • Violent attacks on muslim immigrants and pray venues by far-right extremists in the Athens centre

    7 extremist offences on Bangladeshi immigrants, local foreigners’ stores and Muslim pray venues were reported in Attiki square (Athens) in two weeks. One Bangladeshi immigrant was deadly injured. In one of those incidents, over 80 local inhabitants (middle-age women, teenagers and old people) and far right extremists were pronouncing watchwords in front of a police detachment, such as "Illegal immigrants are not people; they are worms" and "Greece belongs to Greeks". Then...

  • Several extremist assaults on immigrants after the murder of a 44-year-old Greek in Athens

    "Several hundred people including neo-Nazis assaulted dozens of immigrants in a working-class part of Athens today after a murder was blamed on foreigners, police said. Riot police deployed in the Patission district and used tear gas to keep protesters away from a squatter home after the unrest that broke out following the death by stabbing of a man for his video camera. Shouting "foreigners get out", the mob earlier attacked immigrants in the street and vandalised at least one ...

  • Racist violence against immigrants and their families in Athens

    Far right extremists hunting down and beating dark-skinned migrants in Athens - Families with children hidden by locals.   ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Gangs of far-right youths attacked dark-skinned immigrants in central Athens and clashed with riot police Thursday, leaving at least 25 people injured, in a show of force by extremist groups. The attacks, which lasted several hours, occurred following a downtown protest against a deadly mugging that had happened earlier in the week. ...

  • Violent attack on immigrants by a group of 40 offenders

    4 immigrants were the victims of an attack from a group of 40 offenders. The latter were shouting "Foreigners will die" while they were leaving the place. As reported in tvxs.gr by Thanassis Kourkoulas of the Movement "Expel Racism", approximately 40 offenders, aged 17-25 years, with covered faces and holding knives and bats, attacked an Armenian, two Syrians and an Iraqi immigrant, as they were leaving the cafe of the latter in Neos Kosmos, Athens. They hit them on the head, f...

  • Night knife attacks on immigrants in Athens

    Night knife attacks against immigrants have reached alarming rates in the southern suburbs of Athens from a group of four perpetrators. In early September 2011 there were at least 4 bloody incidents, two of them on a single night. At 2:00 p.m. of Sptember 1st, the specific gang located 2 Iranians in an isolated area and injured both on their legs with machetes. About a half hour later the same scene was repeated in Kalyvia, where the victim was an Albanian immigrant. And the next night a Pakistani...

    Arson attack on a muslim pray venue in Athens at the end of the ramadan period

    An arson attack took place in a muslim worship place in Agioi Anargyroi, Athens at the end of the Ramadan period. Unknown persons threw 6 bottles of gazoline setting the worship place on fire. According to the NGO "Antiracism-Fascism" this was a racist incident connected to a previous attack with knives and sticks against migrants. The NGO helds the local police responsible as they didn't filed the migrants' complaint on the first attack. Source: TVXS, 01.09.2011, ...

  • Greek parliament big majority vote in favour of the building of a mosque in Athens

    The building of a mosque in Athens was approved by the Greek parliament by an overwhelming majority (198 in favour and 16 against). The measure was included in the relevant bill of the Ministry of Environment and caused the reaction of the President of the far right-wing party "LAOS", George Karatzaferis, who requested a roll call vote, a request that was accepted. In favour of the mosque building in Athens were the deputies of the governing party PASOK, New Democracy Communist Party (KK...

  • A gang of forty persons attacked 25 Pakistani immigrants in Aspropyrgos

    An organized pogrom against Pakistani immigrants unfolded in Aspropyrgos from persons with handguns and bats that seemed like hooligans of Olympiakos (football team of Piraeus city). The injured were over twenty five, from which four were hospitalised. The Saturday, September 10th late afternoon a group of forty persons gathered near the suburban station where they started hitting Pakistani immigrants. At 8.58 they stopped a bus for 15 minutes, entered and beat four immigrants. They also invaded at ...

  • New anti-racism bill adopts Council Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008

    The bill of the Ministry of Justice to combat racism and xenophobia, adopting the Council Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008, received the unanimous approval of the cabinet. The Bill was filed in February 2011 by former minister Haris Kastanidis and came after a public consultation. It provides the automatic prosecution of racism and xenophobia and the protection of people not only based on criteria such as nationality, color or religion and sexual orientation. It establishes the&nb...

  • Revealing video shows beating of an immigrant by policemen during a control procedure

    A revealing video that went public shows the beating of a man, probably with immigrant background, by police motorcycle officers and men in civilian clothes. According to the youtube user who uploaded the video, the incident took place in late January 2012 on Ameriki Square (Athens centre) and concerned a foreigner who was beaten during a control procedure by policemen and men in civilian clothes.  An administrative investigation was ordered by the Police headquarters on the incident revealed by th...

  • Far-right leader speaks on the use of firearms and irregular immigration in the Greek Parliament.

    Following the decline of his popularity and as the date of the forthcoming legislative election approaches, Mr Giorgos Karatzaferis, the leader of the far-right party, LAOS (Nationalist Popular Orthodox Rally), re-seized the issues of insecurity and irregular immigration during a debate in the Greek Parliament. Mr Karatzaferis called on the Citizens’ Protection Minister, Mr Michalis Chrysochoidis, to relax the law on the use of firearms by both the police and citizens. Mr. Katatzaferis s...

  • Open call for forming a "Greek Militia" to fight crime.

    The organisation "Athena, The Hellenic Arms Control Center" adressed an open call for gathering people in their "Greek Militia" in order to fight crime. The organisation mentions in its foundation declaration: "Day and night, there will be militia soldiers to patrol in order to prevent robberies, burglaries, rapes, car thefts and drug trafficking. The Greek citizens will have the mobile numbers of militia soldiers so as to call them immediately to intervene when they are at risk...

  • Widespread xenophobic political discourse prior to the upcoming national elections

    The immigration issue has entered the political agenda in terms of danger to public health and insecurity, in view of the upcoming national elections on 6 May 2012. The re-emergence of the immigration issue was triggered by the declaration of Citizen's Protection Minister, Mr Mihalis Chryssochoides, to build 30 detention centres for migrants throughout Greece followed by the xenophobic discourse from a big part of the political spectrum and several police controls and arrests in the Athens centre[1]...

  • Road accident turned to a killing of an Albanian immigrant

    Shortly after 8:00 am on 29.04.2012 at Menidi, a car driver dragged a 53 year-old Albanian immigrant with his car injuring him on the leg. The accident was followed by a dispute between the car driver and eyewitnesses. The car driver left the area, coming back armed with a gun to shoot two other immigrants. He deadly injured a 58 year-old Albanian immigrant and wounded a Pakisani immigrant on the leg. Police has started an investigation in the area of Menidi to find the car driver, who, according to eye...

  • Killing of a Romanian citizen near Sparta

    A 49 year-old was arrested by the policemen of the Sparta Police Department on charges of having shot and killed a 39 year-old Romanian citizen on 04.05.2012 in a warehouse situated in the 8th km of the Sparta-Gytheion National road. "According to police sources, the 49 year-old initially denied his involvment in the incident but later confessed his action. So far the motives of the murder are not clarified" [1].       Sources: To Vima, 04.05.2012, Σπάρτη: Συνελήφθ...

  • Neo-Nazi "Golden Dawn" party enters the Greek Parliament with 6,97% of votes and 21 deputies

    Neo-Nazi party Chryssi Aygi (Golden Dawn) won 6,97% in the legislative elections of May, 6th 2012 and entered the Greek Parliament with 21 deputies out of 300 [1]. During the press conference following the first election results, party members ordered journalists to stand to attention as a sign of respect to their leader, Nikos Mihaloliakos [2 & embedded video]. The main slogan of Golden Dawn's campaign is "For the country to be cleaned" [3]. Their slogan promoting "Greece's c...

  • Athens subway passengers witness neo-Nazi Golden Dawn supporters attacking immigrants

    Passengers of the Athens Piraeus Electric Railways (ISAP) witnessed several attacks against immigrants by supporters of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn. On Tuesday night, 30th of May, a group of youngsters attacked a Pakistani immigrant on St Nicolas Electric Railways station deck, causing him multiple injuries. According to eye witnesses, the perpetrators were shouting slogans of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party. Police also examines that the perpetrators possibly came from Golden Dawn...

  • Three immigrants stabbed by persons covered with motorbike helmets

    Three immigrants, two Polish and one Albanian, were stabbed by persons covered with motorbike helmets in Neos Kosmos (Athens). This attack is added to several attacks against immigrants in Athens, many of them being held by supporters of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, as it is reported by several witnesses. Source: TVXS, 01.06.2012, Νέα επίθεση σε μετανάστες στο Νέο Κόσμο (New attack against immigrants in Neos Kosmos), http://tvxs.gr/node/96185, Accessed on 02.06.2012

    Attacks against immigrants during a motorbike rally of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party

    The neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn (Chryssi Aygi) organized a motorbike rally on the night of 01.06.2012 in the Athens centre. During the motorbike rally, several attacks against immigrants by Golden Dawn's members were reported by eye witnesses. According to witnesses, some attacks occured before the presence of police forces.  The police took into custody 6 persons, among which Ourania Michaloliakou, daughter of Golden Dawn's leader, and two Golden Dawn's deputies, Elias Panagiotaros...

  • Spokesperson of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn attacks two female MP's live on TV

    Elias Kasidiaris, MP and spokesperson of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn (Chryssi Aygi) attacked two MPs during a morning news show in ANT1 TV. He throwed a glass of water at left-wing MP Rena Dourou and slapped communist MP Liana Kanelli three times [1]. The show's host, Georges Papadakis, said that Mr. Kasidiaris also attacked technicians and journalists who tried to calm him. The neo-Nazi MP faces arrest within 48 hours for the crime of unprovoked effective verbal abuse [2]. Elias Kasidiarιs also...

  • Brutal attack on 4 Egyptian fishermen by a group of extremists in Perama.

    Four (4) Egyptian fishermen were brutally attacked by a group of ten (10) unknown hooded persons in the early hours of 12.05.2012 in Perama. According to the Police announcement, a group of ten people approached the house where the four Egyptian fishermen live and attacked the victims, seriously injuring one of them. They have also caused damages to windows, two (2) cars and one (1) tricycle. Later on, police arrested six (6) persons (5 men and 1 woman) that were identified by the victims [1]. According...

  • Extremists attacks against immigrants in Chania, Crete on the day of the repeat national elections

    Two Algerian immigrants were attacked by four men with iron bars and knives in Chania, Crete on Sunday morning of 17 June 2012, day of the repeat national elections. The perpetrators also took the victims' clothes, mobile phones and money [1]. The next day, a 27 year-old Egyptian immigrant was attacked by a group oif 20 persons with iron bars causing him serious injuries resulting in endangering his life and finally losing a kidney. Witnesses denounce that the attack was made by neo-Nazi Golden Dawn...

    Neo-Nazi "Golden Dawn" party re-enters the Greek parliament with 6,92% of votes and 18 deputies

    The neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn retains its percentage of 6th May elections, in the repeat parliamentary elections of June 17th, 2012. Golden Dawn gained 6,92% of votes and 18 seats out of 300 in the Greek Parliament [1]. Given the recent violent incidents in which Golden Dawn's members and supporters were involved, this is a suprising result. In an attemt to give a martyr-like image to Golden Dawn, the party's leader, Nikos Mihaloliakos, refered to these incidents as an attempt of the establishm...

    Pakistani immigrant stabbed by extremists in Athens Metro

    A group of extremists attacked and stabbed a Pakistani immigrant in Attiki station of the Athens Metro in the night of Sunday, 17 June 2012, day of the repeat national elections. An amateur video, uploaded on youtube, shows a group of unknown persons in black tshirts hunting and attacking the victim with no reaction from neither passersby, nor a metro security guard present near the incident. According to the youtube user who uploaded the video, the perpetrators were members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn g...

  • Pogroms in immigrants' shops by supporters of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party

    A motorbike team of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party organised a raid in Pakistani immigrants' shops in St. Nicolas Square (Athens). According to the Movement "United against Racism and the Fascist Threat", the neo-Nazis entered the shops and asked the immigrants who were inside to close their shops and leave. They also gave the owners a week to permanently close the stores and leave from the region. Left parties and immigrant organisations denounce that several raids have taken place in the...

  • Extremist attacks & interethnic clashes following the mass expulsion operation "Xenios Zeus"

    Several far right-wing groups have repeatedly attacked immigrants throughtout Greece, following the mass expulsion operation "Xenios Zeus" run by the police in the wider Athens area. According to recordings made by the Union of Migrant Workers, more that 500 immigrants have been attacked with iron bars, bruss knuckles, and knives during the last six months in various parts of Greece. On 08.08.2012 in Rethymno (Crete), five (5) unknown persons in a rural truck stopped at a bus stop, where four ...

    Extremist attacks on muslim worship places in Piraeus during the Ramadan

    Following the mass expulsion operation "Xenios Zeus" and during the Ramadan period, several attacks against muslim worship places have occured in Piraeus.  On 11.08.2012, far right-wing groups attacked two other muslim worship places in Rentis and Nikaia (Piraeus). They wrote slogans on the walls and caused damages [1]. On the night of 09.08.2012, about 15 persons on motorbikes, who allegedly were declaring themselves members of the neo-Nazi group "Golden Dawn" attacked  a...

  • Iraqi immigrant dies after attack out of a muslim worship place in the Athens centre

    On 12.08.2012, 5 persons attacked a 20 year-old Iraqi immigrant out of a muslim worship place in the Athens centre. According to the president of the Pakistani community, Javed Aslam, the victim had gone along with 10 other persons to the worship place, where food was distributed to muslms in need. The offenders came on 4 motorbikes at the entrance of the mosque, when the victim was coming out. They attacked him and deadly injured him with several knife wounds. The victim was transfered to Evaggelismos h...

Far-right wing groups have been operating undisturbed throughout Greece and especially in the centre of Athens prohibiting migrants, children and families of migrants and desecrating pray venues.

In 2006 and 2007, there were few extremists attacks located in different cities. However, the 2009 public debate prior to the European Parliament elections, focused on Athens migrant ghettos, in conjuction with the outburst of the economic crisis in Greece completely changed the aspects of this situation. The highlighting of ghettos in Athens led to self-organised ‘committees of residents’ against the presence of migrants in their neighbourghoods. Ultra-right wing groups (in particular Chryssi Avgi – ‘Golden Dawn’) participated in such committees of outraged Greek citizens. Ιn some cases they obstructed access of migrants and human rights defenders to city squares and open spaces proceeding to ‘cleansing operations’ of public areas and they committed brutalities and aggressions against migrants and human rights’ defenders.

Such violence has significally increased in view of the new citizenship law in 2010 and reached unprecedented levels following the murder of a 44-year-old Greek in Athens in may 2011. Following this incident, that was blamed on foreigners, several assaults several hundred people including neo-Nazis assaulted dozens of immigrants in a working-class part of Athens.

During all these incidents, police intervention was insufficient and rarely led to perpetrators' arrests. The announcement of the creation of a Mosque in Athens (28.04.2010) can be considered as a policy measure that can contribute to mitigate such phenomena, since it can limit the number of basements used as pray venues, which are part of local residents' claims and simultaneously help muslim migrants to exercise their religion.