OPINION

Lawless zone

The downtown Athens district of Exarchia has clearly been allowed to become a hub of drug dealing and a base for groups involved in organized crime, with the fatal shooting of a man in the middle of traffic in broad daylight earlier this week being the most recent example of the lawless zone it has turned into.

The residents of this historic neighborhood can no longer get around safely as it has become a no-go area for the authorities, a lawless pocket right in the middle of the city.

Criminal gangs, in which a number of illegal immigrants are also involved, are allowed to go about their business unhindered.

There is no excuse for the state and the justice system not stepping in to impose the laws of the land. After all, it was the tolerance of such phenomena in recent decades that ultimately resulted in the situation becoming so out of hand.

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