ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Several hundred supporters of Greece’s extreme right Golden Dawn party have staged a protest near central Athens against plans to build a state-funded mosque in the Greek capital.
Authorities used riot police buses to block roads near the construction site during Wednesday’s rally which ended with no reported arrests.
After years of delays, the government has agreed to build the mosque in an old industrial area of Athens to serve its large Muslim migrant community as well as tourists. Muslims currently use prayer houses set up unofficially.
Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos spoke at the rally and described members of Greece’s left-wing government as being “traitors.”
Once openly neo-Nazi, the party currently has 15 members in Greece’s 300-seat parliament, after seeing a surge in support during years of financial crisis.
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