The lyrics “I won’t cry, I won’t fear,” sung by 34 year old, Greek hip-hop artist, Pavlos Fyssas a/k/a Killah P, foreshadowed events that would lead to his death. On Wednesday, September 18, 2013, while watching a soccer match with his girlfriend and some friends, in a small café outside of Athens, the leftist anti fascist activist was stabbed to death by a 45 year old man who has allegedly confessed to the killing. The suspect has also confessed to being a member of the Golden Dawn party, a far-right, extremist Greek nationalist group that has catapulted into the Greek political scene as a result of the economic collapse of Greece. Golden Dawn has become popular among Greece’s unemployed and is known to be anti-immigrant.
It is reported that 20-25 men with sticks surrounded Fyssas, who stood his ground and attempted to protect his girlfriend. The suspect jumped out of a car and stabbed Fyssas three times, twice in the chest and once in the abdomen. It is alleged that while police were at the scene and Fyssas’ girlfriend and others pleaded for them to intervene, they did not. He died 20 minutes later, but was able to name his assailant, who was then arrested.
Thousands demonstrated in the streets of several Greek cities to protest the killing. European officials are concerned with the rise of extremism in Greece. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras pleaded for calm and vowed not to permit “…the descendants of the Nazis to poison our social life, to commit crimes, to terrorize and to undermine the foundations of the country that gave birth to democracy.”
The Prime Minister has asked the Greek Supreme Court prosecutor to treat the Golden Dawn party as a criminal organization. Golden Dawn representatives have denied any involvement with the death of Fyssas.