Hundreds pay respects to Pakistani man murdered in Greece

On Saturday hundreds of Greece's Pakistani community, and Greek protesters gathered outside the City Hall to pay their respects and say prayers for 27-year-old Shehzad Luqman, the latest victim of brutal racist attacks in the country.

Luqman died on Thursday as a result of a knife attack. According to reports two Greek men in their 20s have been charged with the murder. They have admitted carrying out the killing but said their attack was the result of an unintended escalation of a heated argument that started when Luqman's bicycle blocked the motorbike they were riding on. However police sources said the suspects had taken off their motorbike's license plate and that a search of one of the suspect's houses found Golden Dawn pamphlets and that several knives turned up in both their homes. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly about the investigation.

Last year Golden Dawn, received 6.9 percent in the general election in June and won 18 MPs. GD is now third in the opinion polls. It has tried to hold provocative street demonstrations in mixed and immigrant areas. Last week 30 members of Golden Dawn attacked the car of the Turkish consul general to Komotini, Ilhan Sener, in Kavala.

This follows another attack in December when three of its members assaulted an MP of the left wing Syriza party before Christmas. Attacks on the black, Muslim and immigrant minorities in Greece are now daily. GD has infiltrated the Athens police force, half of which voted for the Nazis in the general election.

The prayers for Luqman took place shortly before thousands of people gathered in Athens for a mass anti-fascist protest including a concert in Syntagma Square, outside the Greek Parliament. (NewsPoint)