Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras today pledged to eradicate the "shame" of neo-Nazism as judicial authorities prepared sweeping criminal charges against members of the far-right Golden Dawn party.
"We are dedicated in completely eradicating such a 'shame'," Samaras said in a speech to the American Jewish Committee in New York.
"We must do it within the context of our democratic constitution. But we have to go all the way and do whatever it takes," the premier said, according to a text released by his office.
Some two dozen members of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, including six lawmakers, will appear in court this week after a series of arrests and police raids on party offices at the weekend.
A first wave of suspects, including four Golden Dawn lawmakers and lower-ranking members, are to be officially charged tomorrow.
The party's leader Nikos Michaloliakos is set to be charged on Wednesday, followed by deputy leader Christos Pappas on Thursday.
Testimony from former Golden Dawn members and police wiretaps have revealed a series of "criminal acts" by the group including attempted homicide and voluntary homicide, culminating in the murder of anti-fascist musician Pavlos Fyssas by a self-confessed neo-Nazi on September 18.
Golden Dawn regularly organised "assault militias" in which dozens of members would ride the streets on motorbikes, hitting immigrants with sticks, according to a government report and testimonies cited in the Greek press tomorrow.
"I took part several times in activities involving 50 or 60 motorbikes, with two people on each. The one who was sitting behind held a stick with the Greek flag and hit all the Pakistanis he could see," one ex-member said in court testimony.
Golden Dawn has a "strictly hierarchical structure, the leader is all-powerful following the principle used by (Adolf) Hitler," said the report by the deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Charalambos Vourliotis.
The neo-Nazi party started its attacks in 1987, the report said, initially targeting immigrants and then turning against Greeks.
The magistrate's report said party members were trained in military style -- including the use of assault weaponry according to reports -- and had allegedly committed dozens of criminal acts.
These include scores of migrant beatings that police had allegedly failed to properly investigate until now.
