7 charged in Greece with belonging to violent neo-Nazi group

ATHENS, Greece – A Greek prosecutor has charged seven men with alleged membership in a violent neo-Nazi group linked to a series of arson attacks on far-left and migrant-related targets.

All seven Greeks were formally accused Wednesday of membership in a criminal organization, arson, causing explosions and possession of explosives and weapons.

The suspects were arrested Tuesday by anti-terrorism police in a series of raids in Athens and two provincial towns.

Officers confiscated Molotov cocktails, 50 kilograms of explosives, shotguns, knives, cudgels, drugs and far-right paraphernalia.

The suspects are thought to be members of the Greek branch of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18.

Far-right and far-left violence has increased in Greece during the country’s deep financial crisis over the past eight years. A Nazi-inspired party, Golden Dawn, is currently Greece’s fourth-largest in parliament.