People take part in a march marking the 5th anniversary of the murder of Pavlos Fyssas in Piraeus, Greece, on Sept. 18, 2018. Anti-fascist groups organized a series of events in Athens and other cities of Greece on Tuesday, five years after the killing of 34-year-old musician Pavlos Fyssas by a far-right party supporter. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
By Natasha Pavlopoulou
ATHENS, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Anti-fascist groups organized a series of events in Athens and other cities of Greece on Tuesday, five years after the killing of 34-year-old musician Pavlos Fyssas by a far-right party supporter.
On Sept. 18, 2013, Fyssas, a rapper with an anti-fascist action, was stabbed to death in Piraeus port suburb of Keratsini by George Roupakias, a member of the neo-fascist Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi) party.
Leading the march on Tuesday was the banner of Fyssas' family including Fyssas' mother Magda Fyssa.
"You see on their faces that there is no trace of remorse. That is what makes you mad," she told local Real FM radio station, referring to her son's murderer and ultra-rightists.
The march started from the site where the killing took place outside a cafeteria and continued to Golden Dawn's offices, at the center of Piraeus. Police forces had been deployed in the area, fearing clashes between leftists and members of far-right groups.
Minor scuffles occurred with hooded protesters pelting rocks at anti-riot policemen who responded by using tear gas, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.
Fyssas' death was the first politically-motivated crime committed by a Golden Dawn supporter since the party's entrance in parliament for first time in 2012, amid voters' anger and disappointment at the harsh austerity introduced to deal with the financial crisis.
His murder sparked a judicial investigation that culminated in a criminal trial against the party and dozens of its members, which started in April 2015.
Since then a series of delays has stalled the procedure, while Golden Dawn has entered the parliament again in the 2015 general elections and today holds 15 seats in the 300-member strong assembly.
"September 18th is a day of suffering for every democrat, a black page in the modern history of our country. The murder of Pavlos Fyssas by the criminal gang of the neo-fascists of Golden Dawn reminded us in the most tragic way where the ideologies of hate are leading," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wrote on Twitter.
