© AFPA youth carries an anti-Nazi placard on Jan. 19, 2013 in Athens, Greece.
Hundreds of people held a rally against racism and fascism in central Athens on Saturday as mourners gathered to pray over the body of a man killed in a suspected racist attack.
Nearly 3,000 people, according to state broadcaster NET, joined the peaceful protest that ended with a concert and was organised amid a nationwide surge in xenophobic sentiment.
"I have been the victim of a racist attack and when I tried to complain about it I was arrested.
Police are the same as Nazis," 35-year-old Gildas Batola from Congo told AFP at the rally organised by groups including municipalities, migrant communities and the radical left main opposition party Syriza.
"I have been spat on, I've been told to go home because my boyfriend is from Tanzania," said 38-year-old Tracy Roberts from the UK.
"Sometimes they (police) stop my boyfriend, lock him up for several hours for no reason," she added.
Protesters carried banners reading: "Fascism never again", "End to racist attacks", "Out with neo-Nazis" - also a gay flag was thrown into the mix.