Anti-fascist Musician Stabbed to Death by Neo-nazi in Greece

Greek Rapper Pavlos Fyssas, also known as Killah P. Photo via Greek Wikipedia

Greek anti-fascist hip hop musician Pavlos Fyssas, also known as Killah P., was stabbed to death on Wednesday, 18 September 2013, by a neonazi and Golden Dawn party supporter who confessed his crime after being arrested on the same day. According to eyewitnesses, a few hours after midnight on the 18th, a group of 30 men wearing black T-shirts and military boots, attacked 34-year-old Fyssas and 7 of his friends near a coffee shop at Amfiali, Keratsini, a district of Athens, where he was watching a football match with his girlfriend. A man, said to have driven to the scene after answering a phone call by members of the mob, stabbed Fyssas twice, aiming for his heart. He was later recognized by witnesses as one of Piraeus’ most notorious neonazis. Fyssas pointed at his murderer [el], and possibly identified him, before expiring in hospital, several hours later. According to the victim's father, doctors opined (video, el) that the stabbing was professionally executed. It is believed that the attack was a pre-arranged ambush, given the musician's stated opposition to the Golden Dawn party. Golden Dawn itself denied any connection to the perpetrator or the murder, despite evidence and testimonies pointing to the contrary. Journalist Leonidas Saklabanis tweeted an eyewitness testimony: @LSaklabanis: Αυτόπτης μάρτυρας(φίλος του Φύσσα): Τον μαχαίρωσαν 2 φορές γιατί δεν μπορούσαν να τον βάλουν κάτω. Φορούσαν μαύρες μπλούζες. Eyewitness (Fyssas’ friend): They stabbed him twice because they couldn't take him down. They wore black T-shirts. Blogger and twitter user Monahus pointed out: @monahus: Σύμφωνα με τον πατέρα του Π.Φύσσα κάποιοι τους άκουσαν να μιλάνε για Χρυσαυγίτες και ειδοποιήσαν τηλεφωνικά όσους του εστησαν ενέδρα According to Fyssas’ father, some people heard them talking about Golden Dawnists and called the others that ambushed him afterwards. Eyewitnesses also claimed that they pleaded with police officers present to interfere, but they declined because the attackers were “too many”. London-based Greek journalist Yannis Baboulias added: @YannisBab: Worth mentioning that the killer was in the end arrested by a female officer, while her collegues stood there and did nothing. #Greece Deputy editor of Greece's daily English language newspaper, Kathimerini English Edition (@ekathimerini) Nick Malkoutzis commented: @NickMalkoutzis: On murder of antifascist Pavlos Fyssas, gov't also has Qs to answer regarding apparent inaction of police who witnessed stabbing #Greece Initially, mainstream media latched on to the football quarrel-rhetoric, making the murder seem not premeditated and with no political motives: @YannisBab: Unbelievable that TV station SKAI runs story of murdered antifascist under the title “He killed him over football”. Absolute disgrace. The 45-year old self-confessed murderer initially told the police that he was already at the coffee shop where the victim was sitting with his friends, that they attacked him as he was heading back to his car, and that he was forced to stab the victim in self-defense. He also denied being a member of Golden Dawn, claiming a “loose” association with the neo-nazi party. However, his allegations were incoherent and contradicted the statement that his wife gave to the police. She stated that during the football match, her husband was at home when he received a phone call by a stranger and rushed out, and later admitted being told to dispose of “political literature” and assorted incriminating evidence in a followup phone call: @NickMalkoutzis: Police sources tell @jeansouliotis that Golden Dawn member who stabbed antifascist Pavlos Fyssas told wife to throw away his party card @inflammatory_: Taser+batons found at the flat of Fyssas’ murder who asked his wife to remove any material in connection w Golden Dawn #rbnews @Polyfimos According to a friend of the perpetrator [el], he was not only a Golden Dawn supporter, but he and members of his family also worked at the party's offices. The perpetrator is being investigated by the police for performing violent acts on the party's behalf, such as beating up immigrants around Piraeus. His wife and a friend of his, also working for Golden Dawn, were both arrested for providing false testimonies and attempting to eliminate evidence from the perpetrator's apartment.