Events came after the funeral of 30 year old Thanassis Lazanas who was murdered by three young Afghans on Saturday, according to Patrastimes.gr

Approximately 150 members of the Golden Dawn, who reportedly, joined an anti-immigrant protest rally with organized by residents of Patras for Thanasis Lazanas. Dressed in black with helmets and holding batons and flags members of Golden Dawn lined against the police forces outside the old factory in an attempt to storm the abandoned factory with the immigrants. Residents asked the police not to stop them and let them storm the factory to evict migrants. Shortly after 8 pm the fighting broke out with  police responding with tear gas. Protesters attempted to invade the building at least three times, according to To Vima.

The murder of the 30 year old man as residents of Patras say was the straw that broke the camel on the situation that has developed in the large number of illegal immigrants. There is a growing concern by the citizens of Patras, that an increased number of illegal immigrants will loiter around the new port, according to Ta Nea.  They are afraid that crime may increase in their neighborhoods and therefore they had decided to set up a citizens patrol in the area since last December.

In an announcement by the official website of Golden Dawn, which came during the incidents, said: “The police and riot police instead of applying the law and  clear the area of illegal immigrants, they have attacked residents in Patras with tear gas, and have  arrested residents of Patras and members of Golden Dawn “.

The episodes have left seven civilians and three policemen injured.

The supporters of the  Neo-Nazi party, who wore black clothes, attacked the Egyptians with batons and chains while 3 of the 4 Egyptians were seriously injured.

The 6th of April movement in Greece, has from its part, warned the Egyptian Arab community about the anti-immigrant party. In a press release issued by the movement they demanded that Egyptians ” avoid staying out alone late at night or talking on cell phones in Arabic aloud while walking at night and avoid areas like Omonia, Akharnon, Kallithea where many of the immigrants live and many of the attacks have by the racist party have taken place.”

Meanwhile, the President of the Muslim Association of Greece Naim El Ghandour condemned the “clearly racist”  attacks noting the recent escalation of racism and discrimination against all immigrants in Greece “which never existed before”.

Golden Dawn, the extreme-right party, who seeks to dpeort illegal immigrantss, managed to enter the parliament after the 6th of May elections in Greece. Even though, according to all the opinion polls before the elections this was anticipated, they managed to gain an surprisingly almost 7% (6.97%) of the vote, while in the previous elections in 2009 they had received only 0.29% of the vote.

Greece is the main entry point by land for illegal immigrants in Europe, where, via the Greece-Turkey border, nine out of ten illegal immigrants enter the European Union, according to the UN.