MPs from Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn arrested over racist attack

Page last updated at 09:00 GMT, Sunday, June 3, 2012 - 14:00 EST

Guardian:

Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, led by Nikos Michaloliakos, won 21 seats in last month’s election.

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Two newly elected MPs from the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party were among six people arrested over an attack on a Pakistani man in Athens, in the latest in a series of incidents that have raised fears that Greece's immigrants are being targeted in the runup to this month's crucial elections.

Ilias Panagiotaros and Ioannis Vouldis were briefly held alongside the daughter of Nikos Michaloliakos, Golden Dawn's leader, but were later released. According to police, the attack took place late on Friday when a group involved in a protest turned on a 31-year-old Pakistani bypasser.

Golden Dawn confirmed two of its MPs had been held, but denied they took part in the attack. "[They] could not have been involved because they were miles away,"it said in a statement.

Golden Dawn caused consternation across Europe after winning 7% of the vote in Greece's elections in May, giving them 21 seats. It is the first time the far right has sat in parliament since the fall of the military junta in 1974. With their neo-Nazi insignia, violent rhetoric and calls to expel Greece's immigrants, Golden Dawn's leaders are hoping to exploit political instability in Greece to gain further ground in elections called for 17 June after no party was able to form a government following last month's vote.

Read the whole story: Guardian