The center of Athens, Greece, was inaccessible on Saturday evening due to scheduled rallies held by far- Right Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avgi) party members.
To avert potential violent clashes between demonstrators, Greek police took high security measures and banned marches.
Golden Dawn supporters gathered in Syntagma square in front of the Greek parliament, demanding the release from 
pre-trial custody of the party’s leader Nikos Michaloliakos and another two MPs two months ago.Clad in black clothes, carrying torches and Greek flags, the ultra-right party’s supporters shouted slogans such as “hands off Golden Dawn, don’t jail nationalists” to the sound of Greek folk and marching songs.
On the other hand, Leftist groups gathered nearby at Monastiraki square and outside Athens University to protest against Golden Dawn.
After the murder of two GD members by a Leftist group a few weeks ago in retaliation for Fyssas’ death, tension is high and Greek authorities have taken steps to avert further incidents.
According to a statement by Greek police, the marches were not allowed on Saturday for reasons of public safety. In addition, as a precaution measure, out of service were several metro stations near the sites of the rallies, while strong police force was deployed across the center of the Greek capital.
(source: Xinhua)
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