Court blocks construction of landfill
A court in Lavrio on Tuesday upheld its decision to ban the construction of a sanitary landfill near Keratea, southeast of Athens, overturning an appeal by the state against the verdict.
The ruling was welcomed by local authorities and residents who have been campaigning against the project for more than two months. Many protests have escalated into violent clashes with police.
Costas Levantis, the mayor of Lavreotiki, which incorporates Keratea and nearby Lavrio, said he was satisfied but not surprised by Tuesday’s decision which deems that works cannot proceed on the site until the land has been appropriated, feasibility studies carried out and archaeological authorities have determined if there are any artifacts at the site.
?The state didn?t produce any documents to challenge the original ruling,? Levantis said.
The mayor called for riot police to be withdrawn from Keratea so that local authority representatives and government officials can sit down for talks aimed at breaking the deadlock.
The state is expected to appeal Tuesday’s ruling.
