{"id":12048,"date":"2025-06-29T18:23:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T16:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/?p=12048"},"modified":"2025-08-01T17:32:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T15:32:57","slug":"the-danger-of-nationalist-extremism-in-europe-the-defend-salonica-case-in-greece-by-maria-alvanou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/the-danger-of-nationalist-extremism-in-europe-the-defend-salonica-case-in-greece-by-maria-alvanou\/","title":{"rendered":"The danger of nationalist extremism in\u00a0Europe: The “Defend Salonica” case in Greece \u2013 by Maria Alvanou"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During May 2025, a police operation in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, resulted in the arrest of members of the group \u201cNationalist Youth of Thessaloniki\u201d, linked to various criminal offences, e.g. robberies, assaults and acts of viol<\/a>e<\/a>nce with a racist motive<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The news raised concern to Greek society, especially due to the involvement of minors<\/a>. As criminal procedures are pending, there are several interesting points regarding the group itself, as well as the response to this type of extremism by Greek authorities, both deserving a critical approach[1]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I. The group, its structure and characteristics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cNationalist Youth of Thessaloniki\u201d, also known in social media as \u201cDefend Salonica[2]<\/a>\u201d, is a group allegedly created in the Vocational High School of Evosmos<\/a>, a municipality in the western side of Thessaloniki. The average age of the population in Evosmos is the third youngest in Greece and there is a high percentage of inhabitants born abroad<\/a>. Additionally, after the population exchange due to the Asia Minor destruction in 1922, Greek refugees inhabited the area<\/a>. Lately Evosmos has experienced important urban development, yet it was considered in the past a less privileged area, and it is still troubled by several problems<\/a>, including criminality<\/a>. This part of Thessaloniki- as well as other places on the wider western side of <\/span>the city[3], which shares similar characteristics- is where \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d mainly launched its activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year the group was founded is somewhat of a contested issue, as there is information indicating 2019<\/a>, while there appears to be an interview of a member mentioning 2016 as the starting period, commenting that “until then there was no active nationalist youth organization. It was necessary to organize such a movement that would cover the voice of the youth and express it on the street”<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> This difference in years is not without importance, as the longer \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d has existed carrying out illegal activities, the longer it means it managed not to be addressed and dismantled by Greek authorities. While during the pandemic the group spread conspiracy theories about the vaccines wiping out the \u201cwhite population\u201d<\/a>, COVID-19 is considered to have affected its operational activity. The organisation appears to re-emerge in 2024<\/a> and was involved in a variety of criminal activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evidence up to now show structure and clear hierarchy<\/a> regarding the role and functions of its different types of members: The older and adult members would be the leaders, in charge of the ideological indoctrination and framework for mobilising younger members and recruits, while directing the various illegal operations. The younger members  would seem to have more on the field (operational) and supporting roles, such as helping with recruiting peers, carrying out surveillance and assaults, or acts of vandalism, sourcing supplies, scouting targets, painting graffiti.<\/a> The group seems to have had a program of economic independence and sustainability, with members contributing financially for its survival and functionality<\/a> The use of online platforms served as a way for \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d to spread its views and \u201cadvertise\u201d its criminal activities<\/a> through social media (which makes it extra worrying that the group was able to survive for so long), but also as a venue for communication for the members, taking advantage of certain mobile phone applications<\/a> that hinder detection by the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

II. Ideological parameter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both name, \u201cNationalist Youth of Thessaloniki\u201d and  \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d, reveal a clear ideological orientation. Nationalism is supposedly the way for youth to \u201cdefend\u201d, to protect Thessaloniki, against those who are (according to the nationalist narrative) the enemies of the nation. Ideology has not just been an external \u201cmantle\u201d<\/a> (as often repeated by Greek media), since it has played a pivotal role in the group\u2019s forming and functioning, plus it has set the tune for its activities. Victims were selected and targeted in accordance to nationalist perceptions and included people with leftist or anarchist\/ anti-authority views, as well as foreigners, refugees etc. The group has been reported to have been involved in e.g. the beating of a 15-year-old refugee student in December 2021, in throwing Molotov cocktails, firecrackers, stones and crowbars at students, parents, and teachers in September 2021, in attacking members of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) with chains and tasers in October 2021,<\/a> in carrying out online threatening campaigns against foreigners and members of the LGTBQ+ community.<\/a> The organisation\u2019s members participated in rallies and events of other nationalist groups<\/a>, there are signs of broader collaboration between them, and they have shown support to convicted \u201cGolden Dawn\u201d leading figures.<\/a> Even trivial objects, like clothing, stickers, books, printed materials of the group also reveal the nationalist and racist group\u2019s ideology.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the ideology of the \u201cNationalist Youth of Thessaloniki\u201d- as well as of other similar groups in Greece-one can observe an odd fusion between nationalism and Nazi ideology.  We can see the Nazi slogan  \u201cHeil Hitler\u201d been used, as well as other Nazi symbols like the swastika<\/a>. However, this is an ideological contradiction and paradox, to say the least. Greece has paid one of the highest victim tolls during WII, it was one of the countries that resisted fiercely the forces of the Axis and has to present historically an active resistance movement during the Nazi occupation. Furthermore, even the nationalist regime of Ioannis Metaxas (that could be considered \u201cthe golden standard\u201d of Greek nationalism by such ideological sympathisers) was against the Nazis and refusing collaboration with the powers of the Axis, was the government that led Greece to war against Mussolini\u2019s Italy and Hitler\u2019s Germany. Thus, a nationalist ideology, one promoting patriotism and the survival of the nation cannot easily coincide with supporting the Nazi\u2019s, who invaded Greece, and were responsible for massacres and war crimes like in Kandanos, Kalavrita and Hortiatis (a suburban village outside of Thessaloniki). Even if for some nationalists Christian Orthodox religion is considered a necessary part of the Greek identity, thus they can overlook how Greek Jewish communities were destroyed, they cannot overlook the Greek Orthodox victims (that match their definition of a \u201cGreek\u201d). The absurdity of this ideological inconsistency, on one hand, shows a lack of ideological gravity (even for nationalist standards), and on the other hand, it reveals how easily young people (who possess an alarming lack of basic knowledge about relatively recent historical periods and facts) can be indoctrinated to narratives that make no sense and defy common logic. If for German nationalist groups Nazis can serve as ideological inspiration, for Greek nationalists they should be considered the enemy responsible for one of the most tragic pages in the history of their country.  As the mother of  a 16-year-old member, who sent a critical email to the police with valuable information about the group, very well put it: “Patriots have nothing to do with the Nazis. We Greeks fought them”.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

III. Criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it remains to be seen if the group\u2019s network has completely been dismantled, 28 members have already been arrested, and there are 13 minors among them.<\/a> Police findings in the group\u2019s premises include weapons (e.g., brass knuckles, knives, a sword, metal and wooden rods, hunting ammunition, a slingshot, and an improvised explosive device), cannabis packages plus a precision scale, mobile phones, computers, and gas masks.<\/a> \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d members face, according to their activities, criminal charges as follows: human trafficking with recruitment of minors to commit criminal acts, serial robbery and instigation in this specific act, criminal organisation (gang), incitement to commit crimes and acts of violence with racist motives, incitement to acts of violence or hatred via the internet, violent crimes on the occasion of sporting events, dangerous bodily harm and serial instigation, computer fraud, violation of personal data, damage to another’s property, and violation of laws on flares and drugs.<\/a> The criminal activities of the arrested individuals constitute serious criminal law offences, some of them punished under Greek criminal law with imprisonment sentences. One of the most serious accusations is that one of forming a criminal organisation and participating in it (Article 187 of the Greek Criminal Code), an offence punishable with imprisonment up to 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IV. The Police operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the police operation that led to the arrest of members of \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d should be welcomed as an important success, there are still certain angles of the case that raise concerns. As the cases mentioned earlier show, the violent activities the organisation is accused of go well back in time. \u201cThe TOC\u201d  in its 2022 report, described a terror campaign in schools across western Thessaloniki, with the threatening of teachers, the beating of students who had dissenting views, and the attacking of refugee students (all attributed to groups including the \u201cNationalist Youth of Thessaloniki\u201d).<\/a> In May 2022, the Association of Hospital Doctors of Thessaloniki denounced how the “Nationalist Youth of Thessaloniki” tried to terrorise doctors of a local hospital.<\/a> In 2022, the 5th Association of Secondary Education Officials of Thessaloniki condemned the actions of members of fascist groups at the Vocational High School of Evosmos.<\/a> When such reports have existed for years now and the police investigations conclude that \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d has been active since at least 2019,<\/a> and there appears to be also a relevant 2023 report by the Greek Counter Terrorism Agency with important information about the group,<\/a> there is an important gap until the recent, successful police operation. Given also that the findings on racist violence in Greece appear repeatedly concerning in the annual report by the Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN),<\/a> police action must be prompt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

V. Understanding the danger of nationalist extremism and radicalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greek Citizens\u2019 Protection Minister, when asked about the case and if he saw an attempt to “revive” the “spectre of fascism” in northern Greece, he is reported to have replied: \u201cthe answer is no. It is an operation carried out by the Greek Police through very targeted investigations that have been carried out in recent months, through a careful effort by the Crime Investigation Directorate of the Thessaloniki Police, and it is really very important because it has nothing to do with purely political motives, in essence it is a criminal organisation that, beyond political motives and motives, is essentially engaged in and practices criminal acts\u201d.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The response of the minister reflects an approach that is not very different from the way domestic media referred to \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d as a criminal organisation and not as an extremist group, though acknowledging a far-right and\/or nationalist (even Nazi) ideology and motive[4]<\/a>. Yet, this is part of the problem of inadequately understanding nationalist extremism. Most extremist and terrorist groups commit crimes like, e.g., robberies or use of fake documents (crimes we usually refer to as \u201ccommon criminal legislation crimes\u201d) as part of their attempt for economic survival, or for operational necessity (e.g., to rent an apartment so that the group meets or hides weapons, it would be a very poor choice to present the estate owner with a real identity card). These functional activities do not mean that a group that has been formed with an ideological aim is a criminal organisation, and ideology is something superficial or less pivotal. If the accusations about the violence committed by the \u201cNationalist Youth of Thessaloniki\u201d are proven in court, then we have a textbook extremist organisation case. Furthermore, a lack of acknowledging that this is first and foremost an extremism case prevents taking action against the extremist ideology, which is necessary. Just dismantling extremist organisations and convicting their members is a temporary and limited victory, if measures are not taken to deconstruct their narrative and make sure it is not appealing to young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The example of \u201cGolden Dawn\u201d is unfortunately, an example of an opportunity missed, as it was handled solely in the framework of the criminal justice system as a criminal case. Thus, Greece failed to understand and the dynamic of its ideology that still inspires and radicalises young people, and it remains a legacy that newer groups look back to. Moreover, there is valid legal criticism about how the members of \u201cGolden Dawn\u201d were not charged, prosecuted, and put on trial based on Article 187A of the Greek Criminal Code for terrorism offences, since the party\u2019s tactics aimed and succeeded in intimidating a whole population of immigrants, and the intimidation campaign targeted more groups, such as antifascists.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The critique for the \u201cGolden Dawn\u201d case,<\/a> as well as the \u201cDefend Salonica\u201d, is that things would have been different if the organisations apprehended were of leftist or anarchist ideology. Then terrorism laws would have been applied, and automatically, the adjectives \u201cextremist\u201d and\/or \u201cterrorist\u201d would have been used. Apart from the legal, political, and possible ethical issues, there is also the one of not recording the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism accurately. If the common argument in Greece for the focus on the far left and anarchist extremism is due to its size in comparison to the allegedly less dangerous far-right and nationalist extremism, then such an assessment must be based on accurate recording of all extremism types. There is also another parameter when it comes to acknowledging nationalist and far-right violence as extremist and\/or terrorist. The narrative and the attacks are usually against people marginalised and overlooked by society, e.g., refugees, the Roma or LGBTQ+ community, religious and ethnic minorities, or leftist and anarchist individuals (who par excellence, challenge the system and the status quo). Hence, unfortunately, this type of extremism can have its real identity misinterpreted, and its importance and dynamic downgraded, because it is easy to perceive it as a \u201cproblem for others\u201d that does not directly affect the \u201crespectable\u201d citizens or challenge the authority of the state and its agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In times of crisis (and unfortunately, Greece and the whole world seem to be facing such times), polarisation and the creation of scapegoats are how societies react. Extremist ideologies thrive on the above and offer to young people (who are looking for an identity, a role, and a way to react) the \u201cenemy\u201d who is responsible for the various problems. The \u201cNationalist Youth of Thessaloniki\u201d ought to be understood as a symptom of a wider societal problem, a phenomenon that has the dynamic to wound the values and the security of the state and society. Along with the criminal justice procedures, there is a need for a systematic effort to raise awareness and debunk the narratives of hate, discrimination, and violence that such groups use to create sympathisers and recruit operatives. If we look away from the true ideological dimensions of the problem, then soon we will witness more groups carrying out similar violent crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> The article is based on the presentation with the title \u201cOrganised crime and extremism in  Greece: The “Defend Salonica” case study\u201d made by the author during the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation, in Aalborg (12-13 June 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> Salonica is another name for the city of Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> For example, Oreocastro, where the group carried out an attack in October 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> Indicatively, in all the domestic media articles cited reference to an \u201cextremist group\u201d or \u201cextremist organisation\u201d is missing. Additionally,  the author has been interviewed on the group by several major domestic media (TV, Radio etc) and in all instances she was asked to comment on the \u201ccriminal organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During May 2025, a police operation in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, resulted in the arrest of members of the group \u201cNationalist Youth of Thessaloniki\u201d, linked to various criminal offences, e.g. robberies, assaults and actsRead More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[656,421,318,655],"class_list":["post-12048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-terrorism","tag-defend-salonica","tag-extreme-right","tag-greece","tag-salonicco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12048"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12159,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12048\/revisions\/12159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}