Concerns about fresh spike in lawlessness in Exarchia

Concerns are increasing about lawlessness in the neighborhood of Exarchia as reports of incidents of vandalism and physical assaults have multiplied in recent days.

Early Thursday, unidentified assailants smashed several shop windows in the area. Police said they had recorded two cases of vandalism in recent days while witness reports suggested that there have been at least six in the past week.

The motive behind the attacks remained unclear though some appeared to be the work of far-left activists.

Earlier this week, five people assaulted a writer who uses the pseudym Mr L and whose work has been published in far-right magazines at a cafe on Botasi Street. And last week a group calling itself Easter Hammers claimed responsibility for vandalizing a butcher’s shop in the area.

In comments to state television during a discussion about public safety, leftist SYRIZA’s candidate for Athens mayor, Nasos Iliopoulos, conceded that “there are issues in Exarchia.”