Officers to appear in court over Kostopoulos death
An examining magistrate on Monday gave four police officers charged in connection with the death of LGBTQ activist Zak Kostopoulos in September until December 12 to prepare their defense.
The policemen are shown in a video hitting the 33-year-old.
Kostopoulos was killed after he entered a jewelry store in downtown Athens and was attacked by the business’s owner and another man who allegedly mistook him for a robber.
The policemen have all denied the charge, claiming they never beat Kostopoulos and that they were only performing their duty to detain what they were told at the time was a robber wielding a sharp object.
Two coroners called in to investigate the circumstances that led to the 33-year-old’s death have ruled that he suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of the brutal beating.
Kostopoulos’s parents have asked via their lawyer that the charge be changed from causing fatal bodily harm to intentional murder.
