Protests in Athens sparked by racist killing

Thousands of anti-racism protesters have rallied in the streets of the Greek capital. The march follows the stabbing of 27-year old Pakistani Shehzad Luqman, killed as he rode his bicycle to work in an Athens suburb on Wednesday. Racist attacks are on the rise as Greece struggles through its worst economic downturn in six decades. Pakistani community leader Javied Aslam has called for lawmakers to take action: “The government must take measures and demonstrate that, yes, there are laws and we do not live in the jungle, that laws exist and that people can be punished.” Earlier, a group gathered around Luqman’s coffin to pay their respects. Two Greek men have been charged with his murder. One of them has been linked to Golden Dawn, a party that seeks to rid Greece of immigrant workers. The United Nations warns that racism has reached alarming levels during the financial crisis, which has left more than a quarter of the Greek labour force out of work.