Athens mayor says Exarchia becoming ‘no man’s land’
Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis warned on Thursday that the inner-city neighborhood on Exarchia is at risk of becoming a “no man’s land” and a “black hole in the center of Athens.”
Amid reports of a spike in crime in the area where police refrain from entering, Kaminis told Thema radio that the asylum offered by universities in the area and lawlessness feed off each other. He called on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to take action to deal with the problem that will either “eat away at the city innards” or lead to “a repression that no one can imagine.”
On Wednesday, an Athens prosecutor’s office launched a preliminary probe after receiving a letter signed by some 400 residents complaining about the escalating crime rate in Exarchia, which is a traditional bastion of self-styled anarchists.
