Athens mayor sues neo-Nazi MP who punched a 12-year-old girl while trying to assault him

ATHENS - Agence France-Presse

Supporters of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party hold flares as the chant the national anthem during a rally outside the German embassy in Athens, March 22. REUTERS photo

Athens Mayor George Kaminis on May 8 said authorities should make an example of a neo-Nazi lawmaker who tried to assault him and allegedly punched a 12-year-old girl instead.

Kaminis' office said he was seeking an "exemplary" punishment for George Germenis, a former black metal rocker who was elected to parliament last June with neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn.

On May 2, Germenis stormed into a municipal building where Kaminis was handing out Easter gifts to protest against the mayor's ban on a Golden Dawn food handout earlier in the day.

The handout was denied permission because it was only open to Greeks, Kaminis has said.

Two security officers pinned Germenis against a wall after the assault, whereupon he tried to pull out a handgun and was escorted out, the mayor's office said.

Kaminis has sued Germenis for verbal abuse and unprovoked assault. "A 12-year-old girl was hurt just as she was about to receive her Easter gift," the mayor's office said.

Violent assaults

Many Golden Dawn supporters have recently been implicated in violent assaults against immigrants and the party is known for its anti-Semitic and xenophobic discourse.

Two other Golden Dawn deputies have been stripped of parliamentary immunity for destroying property belonging to immigrants at a market near Athens.

And the party's spokesman, Ilias Kassidiaris, is to be tried for assaulting two leftist lawmakers on live television last year.

Golden Dawn was elected to parliament in June, winning nearly seven percent of the vote and 18 seats out of an overall 300. The party has benefited from a rise in social tensions in a country experiencing a fourth year of austerity and a sixth year of continuous recession.

Last year, Golden Dawn staged another food distribution at central Syntagma Square exclusively for Greeks that could prove their nationality by showing their identity cards.