by Aggelos Skordas
Two women were attacked by Golden Dawn supporters on Wednesday morning outside the Athens courthouse where protected witnesses are planned to testify for the ongoing trial of the extreme right party. One of the victims is prosecutor attorney Evgenia Kouniaki, while the second is a civilian. Reportedly, the two women were attacked by supporters of Golden Dawn on Alexandras Avenue when getting off a bus just outside the courthouse, where five protected witnesses are due to testify by video link at the special court room designed in Greece’s largest prison, in Korydallos, where the trial against Golden Dawn is being held.
Once the bus doors were opened, the victims came face to face with some 30 Golden Dawn supporters who were demonstrating against the trial. Despite the women’s plea to the driver to close the doors again, his reaction was not rapid so the attackers got the chance to set upon them. Specifically, one of the victims was punched in the nose and the other in the mouth, bearing injuries. After being attack the two women were transferred to nearby Attica General Police Directorate (GADA) to testify. At the same time, 25 suspects were prosecuted in GADA in relation to the attack but were later released. Due to the violent incident judges ordered that the protected witnesses should testify on Friday November 3, in the presence of a judicial official, while their voices will be distorted in order to protect their identity from acts of retaliation by the party supporters. It should be noted that Kouniaki is representing victims of a previous Golden Dawn attack.
“I got a punch in the face and was covered in blood. I thought there was no way they would hit us”, Kounianaki told journalists after exiting GADA, adding that the riot police squads stationed on the spot did nothing to protect the two women: “They could have formed a dragnet to stop them or have them arrested. The police did not react. No attempt was made to prosecute the attackers.” All political parties issued official statements condemning the cowardly attack.
Among the 70 charged of running and belonging to the organisation, which has been linked to crimes are its leader Nikos Michaloliakos and numerous MPs and high ranked members including Ilias Kasidiaris, Christos Papas, Ioannis Lagos, Giorgos Germenis, Nikos Kouzoulos, Panagiotis Iliopoulos. The charges brought against Golden Dawn, include the murders of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas (a.k.a. Killah P) in September 2013 and Pakistani migrant Luqman Shahzad in January 2013, as well as several individual assaults on foreign nationals and leftist activists, including the attack against PAME member
