THESSALONIKI, Greece — The 75-year-old mayor of Greece’s second-largest city was brutally assaulted by a far-right mob at a public gathering over the weekend, an attack that brought gleeful expressions of support from nationalist groups and heightened concerns about a rise in hate crime in the country. The mayor, Yiannis Boutaris, who is known for his liberalism and outspoken views against far-right violence and racism, was set upon Saturday afternoon in the northern city of Thessaloniki by about a dozen people during a ceremony commemorating the World War I genocide of Pontic Greeks by Turkish forces. He was thrown to the ground, punched and kicked before being escorted to a car that was vandalized by protesters, and he was briefly hospitalized with head, back and leg injuries.
Mayor Yiannis Boutaris of Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki, is hospitalized after being assaulted by a group of nationalists at a Greek genocide remembrance event.