3 injured at Athens march held in memory of musician killed by neo-Nazi

ATHENS, Greece — Stone-throwing youths injured three people and clashed with riot police Monday during an Athens protest march in memory of an anti-fascist musician killed four years ago by a supporter of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.

Police used stun grenades to disperse the rioters in the capital’s western suburb of Keratsini.

Two bystanders were injured by flying stones, and a member of a Greek TV crew covering the march was beaten up by protesters. Police detained three suspected rioters.

Youths smashed the windows of a local municipal building, damaged and looted a coffee shop and threw at least one gasoline bomb at police. About 2,200 people took part in two separate marches organized by left-wing groups.

In the northern city of Thessaloniki, another protest in memory of the slain singer degenerated into clashes with police, who fired tear gas and stun grenades after coming under attack with Molotov cocktails and rocks. Rioters also smashed up a coffee shop.

A similar protest Sunday in central Athens ended in violence, with riot police using tear gas against protesters using gasoline bombs. One detained youth was injured after being struck by a car while trying to escape from custody.

Rapper Pavlos Fyssas’s death in 2013 sparked an investigation into the actions of Golden Dawn, which until then had not been sanctioned despite being linked to a campaign of violence against migrants and political opponents.

Nearly 70 members and supporters of the violently xenophobic and anti-Semitic formation have been on trial since 2015.

“The trial needs to conclude and send the neo-Nazis to prison,” said protest organiser Petros Constantinou.

The prosecution is trying to prove Golden Dawn operated as a full-blown criminal outfit that allegedly encouraged beatings and even killings.

This week a former member testified in court that the outfit had designs to abolish the Greek parliament and create a Nazi-style state.

He added that prospective members took oaths to join the group under a Third Reich flag.

Fyssas’s father has said his son was ambushed by around 60 Golden Dawn members outside a cafeteria and had been felled by “professional” blows to the heart.

A handful of police stood nearby but did not intervene when a group of around 20 people chased down Fyssas and his friends, according to witnesses.

Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos and other senior party members were also jailed at the outset of the investigation but have since been released.

The group rose to prominence at the height of the Greek economic crisis, portraying itself as a defender of Greece against unchecked migration and political corruption.

In the 2015 elections, Golden Dawn finished third with nearly 380,000 votes and elected 18 lawmakers to parliament.