Police shake-up in Greece after neo-Nazi murder

Two top Greek police chiefs quit in a shake-up on Monday after the murder of an anti-fascist musician by an alleged member of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn sparked protests, and led to a probe of a possible police connection. Police said two regional supervisors for southern and central Greece had stepped down as an inquiry was under way into possible links between the police department and Golden Dawn. The police shake-up also involved the suspension of a number of senior officers on the island of Evia for failing to investigate a Golden Dawn office near a local police station where weapons were allegedly kept. The department's internal affairs division was also tasked with determining whether officers had participated in illegal Golden Dawn activities. Around 30 such incidents are under investigation, a police source said. At the same time, nearly a dozen senior officers switched posts, including the heads of the anti-terrorist squad, the organised crime squad and the guns and explosives squad, police said. The fatal stabbing of 34-year-old hip hop artist Pavlos Fyssas on September 18 touched off street protests and prompted authorities to take a harder stance against Golden Dawn. The neo-Nazi party has already been linked to assaults on immigrants although it officially denies such attacks, while several of its lawmakers have also been involved in violent incidents and have yet to face justice. Three Golden Dawn lawmakers are to be tried for smashing up the street stalls of migrant peddlers in two separate incident. Another member of parliament, party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris, is also due in the dock for striking a female Communist MP during a talk show last year.