Greece: Young Roma dies after being injured by a policeman

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Greece Young Roma injured by policeman dies

A 16-year-old boy who was shot by law enforcement officers in northern Greece did not survive.

Roadblocks were set up with burnt tires after a teenager was injured in a police officer’s firing.

AFP

A 16 years old A Roma man who was shot in the head by a police officer in northern Greece on December 5 has died of his injuries, the hospital where he was being treated said on Tuesday. “Today (…) despite the tireless efforts of the nursing staff in the intensive care unit, the patient died,” Ippokratio Hospital in Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki, said in a statement.

In the evening, 2,500 demonstrators marched through central Athens in memory of Kostas F, police said. Clashes between the police and some protesters resulted in stone pelting and tear gas shells that halted the rally.

Molotov cocktails were also thrown at police, Greek news agency ANA said, citing police. Already, by the time the boy was hospitalized, a rally had degenerated into incidents between police and angry protesters from the Roma community who threw stones.

young father

A few other disputes took place in the following days. While representatives of the Roma community did not call for peace, roadblocks were set up with burnt tires.

A young man has been seriously injured by a police officer during a chase after he fled without paying a €20 fee at a petrol station. The young father was admitted to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery and was later admitted to the intensive care unit.

In its press release, the police said “the driver was making dangerous manoeuvres” and “attempted to hit police motorcycles”. The police officer who fired was tried by a court and placed under house arrest.

“Deep Regrets”

Civil Defense Minister Takis Theodorikakos expressed his “deep regret” over the young man’s death, stressing on Twitter that “only justice” “deserves to assess the facts and address responsibility”.

The head of the Roma community in Greece has denounced the authorities’ “racism” and “intransigence” towards this minority, which numbers 170,000, according to authorities, and 300,000, according to community representatives.

A year ago, another young Roma, aged 20, was killed after a chase with police in a deprived area in western Athens. The 7 police officers involved have been charged with murder and attempted murder of the injured 16-year-old. The investigation is still ongoing.

(AFP)

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