Murder of Pavlos Fyssas

Description

On 17 September 2013, Pavlos Fyssas went out with his partner and 8–10 people to a cafe, to watch a football match.

The Greek Police received a call at 23:57 the same night, in which the caller stated that a group of 50 people had assembled and were armed with bats, at the intersection of Ifigenias Street and Panagi Tsaldari Avenue in Keratsini. They were reportedly heading towards a shop-cafe called "Coral". At 23:59, a DIAS police unit of 8 was instructed to enter the area. The police officers reached the Coral cafe, where 30 people were assembled outside, a number of whom started to run towards Tsaldari Avenue, where another group of 60 people had already assembled. There the police officers found Pavlos Fyssas injured with stab wounds. While still conscious, Fyssas indicated Giorgios Roupakias, who was still on site, as the perpetrator of the attack. Roupakias was then arrested. Pavlos Fyssas was transported to the General Hospital of Nikea, where he died.

Roupakias called the central office of Golden Dawn (which is under the name of its general secretary) and it was said that he had indeed spoken with Nikolaos Michaloliakos while the latter was at his residence at the time, which was confirmed by police officers. Roupakias worked in the cafeteria of the offices of the political party Golden Dawn.

Roupakias was released from pre-trial custody in March of 2016 despite having admitted to the murder to a judge after spending the legal maximum time before being proceedings. He has since been required to stay in his home except for court appearances, with armed guards keeping him both restricted and protected.

Reactions

The murder was condemned by all parties represented in parliament, including Golden Dawn, which stated through its MP, Ilias Kasidiaris, that it had no connection to the incident. Fyssas' father stated angrily through a phone call on a television station that his son did not belong to any political faction. He specifically stated: "My child did not belong anywhere, they have wrongly politicized him. From the first day we have stated this. They exploit him politically. My child did not belong anywhere."

In a television statement, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras asked for reactions to be calm and stated that he will stop "the descendants of the Nazis from poisoning our social life, to act criminally, to terrorize and to undermine the foundations of the country which gave birth to democracy".

Following the incident, protests against Golden Dawn and the associated rise of the far right took place throughout Greece, including a protest in Athens, attended by 2,500-10,000 people, which marched towards Golden Dawn's central offices a week after the death before being violently broken up by a police force that had still left unanswered inquiries about police allegedly allowing the murder of Fyssas to take place in front of them without intervening. The police response to this protest included 34 arrests and reports of one female protestor being shot in the face at close range with a tear gas canister. Protests also took place in cities outside Greece, including Barcelona, Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, London and Nicosia.

Anti-fascist protests staged in Greece turned violent; with police and protesters clashing in Thessaloniki and Athens. Golden Dawn MPs Ilias Kasidiaris, Ilias Panayiotaros and Nikos Michos, who had been accused of acting as intermediaries in the case, were freed after they were not indicted.

On the 1st of November 2013, a shooting took place at the Golden Dawn's Neo Irakleio offices in Athens. The attack resulted in two members of Golden Dawn, Manolis Kapelonis and Giorgos Fountoulis, being killed with a third injured.

As featured performer

"Έχω" - Ανδρείκελος - Οι Παλίρροιες Των Χρόνων (The Tides Of Time) (2007)