Far-right group vandalise school where Beloyiannis was held as prisoner

by Aggelos Skordas

After a period of inactivity the attacks carried out by neo-Nazi, fascist, extreme right and xenophobic groups in Greece appear to be on the rise. On Thursday, Mayday, a group of unknown assailants vandalised a school in Kallithea, which was used as the prison of the Greek resistance leader and iconic figure of the Greek Left Nikos Beloyiannis.

Specifically, the school’s walls were painted with neo-Nazi symbols and slogans, while according to residents three more schools have been targeted by the group and vandalized. “During the March 25 parade, a group of fascists attacked and hit anti-fascists who distributed anti-fascist material near Cyprus Square. As it is widely known where the school complex of Agios Nikolaos stands there were prisons where among others Nikos Beloyiannis was imprisoned awaiting for his execution” a statement issued by the local Union of Secondary Education Teachers, ELME Kallitheas, reads.

Recently, the far-right motivated attacks against leftist or migrant-related targets appear to be on the rise following a period of relative obscurity related to the on-going Golden Dawn trial.

On February 25, five people were injured when a group of neo-Nazis attacked the anti-fascist, free social center “Favela” in Piraeus suburb of Keratsini. On May 22 a group of some 300 extreme-rightists attacked migrants peacefully protesting the living conditions at the Moria refugee camp of Lesvos and the delays in asylum processing injuring no less than 30 people, among them women and children.

After the end of the Greek Civil War, Beloyannis returned to Greece in order to re-establish the Athens organization of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) that had been declared illegal. He was arrested on 20 December 1950 and was taken before a court-martial on charges of violating the law which criminalized KKE, treason and transmitting information to the Soviet Union. His trial started on 19 October 1951. In total, 94 people were accused. Beloyannis denied all accusations and stressed the patriotic nature of his actions during the anti-Nazi resistance. He became globally known as the “Man with the Carnation” after he was depicted as such in a famous Pablo Picasso sketch. Despite national and international appeals for clemency, on 30 March 1952 Beloyannis and seven of his comrades were executed.