As a member of Golden Dawn charged with stabbing to death a 34-year-old anti-fascist after a taverna altercation was telling a court he regretted what he did, it was reported that three former members of the neo-Nazis have told authorities the party’s leader personally oversaw hit squads given free rein to attack immigrants and other targets.
The newspaper Kathimerini said that according to sources it didn’t name that one of the three has already spoken to the media anonymously and described the strict chain of command within the party and the paramilitary nature of its activities, which included attacks on migrants and leftists.
According to his allegations, party MPs and Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos approved any raids carried out by the group’s roaming gangs, which usually attacked only when it had huge adds in their favor, 30 or 40 of them against one or a few victims.
Revelations of the party’s infrastructure are being revealed in the aftermath of the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, 34, for which Giorgos Roupakias has been charged.
Conflicting stories about the incident continued to emerge. Police said Roupakis was called to the scene of the confrontation by Golden Dawn members at the cafe who wanted superior numbers to go after Fyssas and several of his friends and that the alleged killer pulled a knife after being unable to get the advantage of the victim physically.
Now, however, Roupakias insisted that he was not part of a group that attacked Fyssas and his friends in the neighborhood of Amfiali, near Piraeus. He claimed that he had been leaving a cafe in the area and was attacked as he attempted to get into his car. He said he used a knife to defend himself.
Witness statements contradict this claim, saying that Roupakias saw Fyssas being attacked, stopped his car, got out and stabbed him. Witnesses also report that another man was in the car with Roupakias but that he ran away as police arrived.
Roupakias also claimed that he had a “loose” association with Golden Dawn, which contradicts evidence given by his wife and photos of him at party events, which have been published since the murder.
Police are also examining his phone records, which show he was contacted several times shortly before the stabbing.“I’ve destroyed two households,” Roupakias, a father of two, is reported to have told the magistrate.
The government has decided to increase the legal pressure on Golden Dawn and is set to make adjustments to two articles of the criminal code. Article 187, which relates to criminal organizations, is likely to be made stricter so offenses carry a 10- to 20-year jail sentence. Article 195, relating to armed gangs, will carry jail terms of two to five years under the government’s plans.
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