Anti-fascist march marks fifth anniversary of murder of Pavlos Fyssas

Tensions were high at a march to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas , whose stage name was Killah P, in Keratsini, a suburb of Piraeus.

Fyssas was murdered with a knife by Golden Dawn member Yorgos Roupakias, who was part of a hit squad organised and sent by the extreme right party to kill the rapper, as evidence at the trial of Golden Dawn showed.

Fresh video evidence shows that Greek Police were in close proximity to the murderous attack and failed to react.

The murder of the 34-year-old rapper led to the ongoing trial of Golden Dawn, which has been charged with being a criminal organisation and with money laundering.

In July, 2014, nine Golden Dawn MPs were jailed and nine more were placed under house arrest. They were released 18 months later, which under Greek law is the maximum period of incarceration if the verdict has not been delivered in the trial of prisoners.

Five years after the Murder of Fyssas, on 18 September, 2013, the trial of Golden Dawn, which has been interrupted and postponed innumerable times, has yet to conclude.

The destination of ant-fascist protest march, which began at the Fyssas memorial sculpture in Keratsini, was the offices of Golden Dawn in Piraeus.

Tensions rose when the first marchers reached the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, where riot police buses blocked the marchers from reaching their destination.

Then, a group of helmeted individuals stoned and threw Molotov cocktails at riot police, and also attacked the buses with sticks and rocks, to which police responded with tear gas.