ATHENS: A Pakistani worker was shot in the head in Greece in a suspected hate crime ahead of a key appeal trial involving the notorious neo-Nazi group Golden Dawn, an anti-racism group said Wednesday.
The Keerfa group said Ali Riaz, 26, had been repeatedly fired at by a passing taxi driver in central Athens on Monday as he and other Muslims were returning from prayers to mark the end of Ramadan.
Doctors later removed a pellet from his left temple, the group said.
"I did not see his face... but he was white," Riaz told state TV ERT.
The incident comes ahead of an appeals trial on June 15 involving dozens of members of the Golden Dawn group, formerly Greece's third most popular party.
In a ruling in October 2020, Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos and nearly 60 other members were found guilty of participation in a criminal organisation.
Crimes attributed to the group included the murder of a Greek anti-racism rapper and the serious beating of an Egyptian fisherman.
Of the 57 people convicted in 2020, 40 were jailed and 35 are still in prison.
Golden Dawn, a xenophobic and anti-Semitic organisation, existed on the fringes of Greek politics until the country's 2010 debt crisis. It capitalised on public anger over immigration and austerity cuts, entering parliament for the first time in 2012 with a total of 18 seats.
Three years later, Golden Dawn emerged as the third most powerful political force in the country.
One of the Golden Dawn cadres jailed in 2020 is former party spokesman, Ilias Kasidiaris. He has formed a new nationalist party that polls at under two percent.
Pakistani shot in Greece in suspected hate crime
https://arab.news/zdk3c
Pakistani shot in Greece in suspected hate crime
- Ali Riaz, 26, was repeatedly fired at by a passing taxi driver in central Athens
- Incident comes ahead of appeals trial involving neo-Nazi group Golden Dawn
Customs seize contraband, vehicles worth $1.1 million in Pakistan’s southwest
- The contraband goods, including branded cigarettes and mobile phones, were seized in multiple operations in the Balochistan province
- Smugglers have long exploited the southwestern province, which shares a porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, for illicit trade
KARACHI: Pakistan Customs seized contraband goods and vehicles in multiple anti-smuggling operations in the southwestern Balochistan province, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said on Sunday.
In an intelligence-based operation (IBO), Customs officials seized 508 cartons (25,400 sticks) of assorted branded smuggled cigarettes valued at Rs200 million ($713,891), according to the FBR.
In separate operations, Quetta customs authorities seized a large number of smuggled mobile phones and 13 non-custom-paid (NCP) vehicles, with a combined assessed value of Rs117 million ($417,626).
“All seized items have been taken into official custody and further legal proceedings are being initiated under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act,” the FBR said in a statement.
It did not elaborate whether any arrests were made during the seizures.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s crackdown on smuggling of goods to support its over $400 billion economy. Smugglers have long exploited Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which shares a porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, for illicit trade of fuel, vehicles and other goods.
Earlier this month, Pakistan Customs seized narcotics, smuggled goods and vehicles worth a total of Rs1.38 billion [$4.92 million] in separate operations in Balochistan, according to the FBR.
“These operations are part of the [customs] collectorate’s intensified enforcement drive aimed at curbing smuggling and dismantling illegal trade networks,” the FBR said on Dec. 16.
The FBR on Sunday reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to curbing smuggling and illicit trade to safeguard the national economy.
