Neo-Nazis remanded outside historic Athens Polytechnic

Police in the Greek capital on Tuesday remanded three suspected neo-Nazis who were trying to hang two swastika flags at the historic Athens Polytechnic building.

According to police, the suspects were trying to attach the flags to the entrance of the university where a student uprising in 1973 helped bring down the 1967-1974 military dictatorship.

The incident comes just days ahead of the November 17 anniversary of the uprising, which is marked throughout Greece, and particularly in the area around the Athens Polytechnic, with protest rallies and a march to the US Embassy across the city center on Mavili Square.

Police are treating it as an effort to stoke tension ahead of Saturday's commemorations.