The assistant professor of NKUA and partner of the programme “Empowering Young Roma Women in matters of health prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach” are training young Roma women in Agia Varvara and in Zefyri The training covers issues of domestic violence human rights and mental health with material produced by the Intercultural Education Studies Lab The specific programme is implemented by the Prolepsis Institute in collaboration with the Intercultural Education Studies Lab of the Department of Educational Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens trains and Proastiakos suburban railway stations in western Attica under a new pilot program designed to combat antisocial behavior and ensure safety on public transport general secretary of Athens Urban Transport Organization workers “We had incidents daily and every driver on his shift was faced with many problems The bus was ‘split’ in the middle in the evenings: the passengers sat up front while there was drug taking in the back seats,” said Nikolakopoulos I believe both passengers and drivers will feel more secure,” he said president of the Western Attica Police Union welcomed the measure as a step in the right direction to tackle a “serious problem.” gangs of three or four people vandalize buses by throwing stones and smashing windows We’ve seen cases where they set up a roadblock stopped the bus to break the windows and then escape,” he told Kathimerini He said people with addiction issues use the A10 and B10 buses to travel up from the city center to Zefyri Menidi and Ano Liosia “to buy drugs and harass passengers.” Stamatakis added that it was significant that the transport police are not drawn from local stations in Western Attica resulting in the weakening of the services in the region and consequently its policing.” Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox Eight suspects have been detained so far during an ongoing police operation in the western Athens suburbs of Zefyri and Ano Liosia Friday Most of the suspects have been convicted of several offences in the past Police have so far seized more than 500 grams of cocaine and five 9mm bullets The operation comes after videos emerged on social media showing young people in Zefyri holding weapons and firing into the air The videos were seen as a message to members of rival gangs based in the wider area of Ano Liosia There is also speculation that the move is related to an armed attack a few days ago in a cafe on Filis Street in Athens that belongs to one of the most powerful families in the area accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy on the autism spectrum in a western Athenian district was deemed remandable following his defense on Monday The 42-year-old defended himself against charges of abusing a person who was unable to resist sexual conduct he denied all allegations during his interrogation The case came to light after the child’s mother filed a complaint The man was arrested last Friday outside his home in Zefyri According to confidential reports by the Greek police almost 50% of the crime in Attica originates in the Roma settlements that are under the full control of mafia groups vying for the dominance of the areas only 15 kilometres from the heart of Athens They are the “independent democracies” of Attica which in recent decades have become ‘no-go zones’ for the police and a haven for drug Although most of the inhabitants of the Roma settlements do not participate in illegal activities and try to live their lives according to law they are fearful for their lives if they decide to open their mouths A code of silence “Omerta” is the common reaction to illicit actions which led to the death by police of a young Roma who had stolen a car is indicative of the situation that prevails The vast majority of Greek Roma may be fighting for survival and abstaining from illicit actions Children and young people fall into petty crime and engage in theft 17 Hyundai Accent 1,300 cc were stolen from the wider area of ​​Renti – similar to the car that was used by the Roma victim in the bloody police pursuit- used for theft and raids by gangs in the western suburbs and were later found burned at the Schistos area Kalashnikovs and carbines are the norms for the gang members trying to enforce their rules and expand their turf influence Misunderstandings and incidents with guns and drugs in the background are almost a daily occurrence while the role of some police officers is strange and obscure The leadership of the Ministry of Civil Protection plans to break the vicious circle of lawlessness by launching operations to liberate at least five Roma camps from mafia families who enforce the unwritten law of omerta and have turned them into strongholds of illegality According to a confidential report of the Hellenic Police the dangerous no-go zones start from the Aspropyrgos camp which is used as a base by many predatory groups law enforcement officers are “forbidden” from entering and operating many of their Balkan Roma are also hiding there and involved in most of the crime since every time they are arrested they change their identity the trafficking of drugs and weapons is flourishing even children who are used by the gangs for the trafficking of drugs have been recorded There are two communities in the area: the ‘northerners’ and the ‘southerners’ beastly 4×4 vehicles roam the muddy streets while the sale of cocaine and hashish is one of the prevalent illicit activities Kalashnikovs and silence is the modus operandi as crime pervades the air and it is difficult to find a single person who is not carrying a piece In Menidi there are parts of the settlement where the gangs are in complete control and specialise in drug trafficking gangs of Greeks and foreign Roma terrorise residents and impose their unwritten laws Follow 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