Eleni StamatoukouAthensBIRNDecember 8, 202214:49The police shooting of a 16-year-old Roma in Thessaloniki caused outrage in the Roma community, prompting violent protests across Greece.
A fireman pours water on burning objects after clashes between Romany and police forces near the settlement of Ag.Sofia in Thessaloniki, during a protest against the shooting of a 16-year-old boy by a police officer, 6 December 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ACHILLEAS CHIRAS GREECE OUT
Members of the Roma community took to the streets in Athens, Thessaloniki, Messinia, and Agrinio on Wednesday, protesting the police shooting of 16-year-old Kostas Fragoulis in Thessaloniki.
Protesters threw stones, burned a bus and tires and put up roadblocks and laid fires, reported Kathimerini newspaper.
After a police chase because he did not pay 20 euros for petrol, 16-year-old Fragoulis,was seriously injured in the head by the bullet of a 32-year-old policeman.
The teen is still hospitalized in critical condition in the Ippokrateio General Hospital of Thessaloniki ICU. In the previous 24 hours, he underwent a forensic examination following a prosecutor’s order.
According to the findings, he has severe craniocerebral injuries, a consequence of the wound caused by the bullet, and underwent an operation to remove it, reports Athens Macedonian news agency.
This year’s report by the Greek Ombudsman in June 2022 on the arbitrariness of the prosecuting authorities in Greece noted complaints of police abuse against persons because of their racial origin.
National and international bodies – the Ombudsman, the Council of Europe, and others – have repeatedly highlighted the racist targeting of Roma by Greek police officers.
The JUSTROM program, “Roma Women’s Access to Justice”, of the Council of Europe from 2017 to 2022 was organized in Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, and Romania.
Christos Iliadis, an external expert of the Council of Europe and board member of the Hellenic League for Human Rights, told BIRN that they have received dozens of complaints about excessive violence by police officers against Roma.
“However, we also saw police officers who stand up against the bad practices of their colleagues and try for the best without support from their leadership. It is necessary to restore trust immediately, for police to act with professionalism and prudence as befits a European police force and to effectively investigate allegations against it of excessive violence, ill-treatment, and racial profiling,” said Iliadis.
Another incident of police arbitrariness in 2021 was the death of 18-year-old Roma Nikos Sampanis at the hands of a police officer.
“A few days ago, what we feared was confirmed, that police brutality, racism, cover-up, and impunity lead to the same phenomena again. The conditions and problems under which the Roma live have zero visibility in Greek news,” Melpomeni Maragkidou, a journalist and producer, told BIRN.
Maragκidou, together with Dimitris Zivopoulos and Panagiotis Pantazis, created an explainer video to explain to the general public the timeline of the Sampanis case.
“The media mainly deal with the Roma community whenever there is criminal behavior, and of course, this is dressed up with racist characterizations.
“Such cases have such a volume of information and so much commentary that eventually the public gets confused about what exactly happened, and unfortunately, what remains, in the end, are the racist stereotypes and misinformation,” said Maragidou.
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