“Crypteia” claims responsibility for racist attack at Afghan boy’s home

A group calling themselves “Crypteia” claimed responsibility for the racist attack at the home of 11-year-old Afghan boy Amir in an Athens suburb last Friday. An member called Greek news website iefimerida.gr on Monday and threatened “We will fight until the last immigrant leaves. And to that end, we will use force and violence, mercilessly.” They described Crypteia as “national resistance organization.” It is the first time this group appears in Greece.

Crypteia is named after a vigilante band of ancient Spartans, a kind of police who terrorized slaves and tried with all possible means to suppress any sign of revolt.

Experts suspect Crypteia is a breakaway faction from Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.

Gang With Suspected Neo-Nazi Links Vows to Force Migrants From Greece

Crypteia says it is recruiting anti-migrant hit squads and has vowed to drive all migrants and refugees out of Greece.

The group, naming itself Crypteia, after a vigilante band of ancient Spartans who terrorized slaves, told a Greek news outlet Tuesday, “We will fight until the last immigrant leaves. And to that end, we will use force and violence, mercilessly.”

Crypteia claimed responsibility for an attack Friday on the Athens home of an 11-year-old Afghan boy and his family, whose apartment was pelted by rocks and beer bottles. A note was left that read, “Go back to your village. Leave.”

The boy, Amir, had drawn local attention days before the attack after having been picked to carry the Greek national flag for his school in a national day parade, only to have the privilege revoked and given a school sign to hold instead.

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Recent opinion polls suggest anti-migrant sentiment is rising in Greece. The country has witnessed a surge in the past few months in the number of refugees and migrants entering the country, exacerbating already terrible living conditions in camps on the Greek islands and shelters on the mainland.

How serious a threat Crypteia poses is the subject of debate within Greek political and police circles with some saying that invoking the ancient Spartan band is nothing more than cover for a bunch of crude thugs. Others are not so sure.

Analysts say there has been talk within Golden Dawn circles of forming secretive anti-migrant hit squads since several party leaders and lawmakers were arrested following the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas by an alleged supporter of the party. Their trial is ongoing. Full story Voice of America

Meanwhile the Amir, his mother and the two siblings have been relocated into another apartment somewhere in Athens. The family is supported by the UNHCR temporary housing program for refugees.