Trial date for death of gay activist set for October 21
The trial over the death of 33-year-old LGBTQI activist Zak Kostopoulos in September 2018 in central Athens has been set for October 21.
Six people – two store owners and four police officers – are facing charges of causing fatal bodily harm.
The activist’s family have lamented the delays in setting a date. “The dispensation of justice has real meaning when it is delivered within a reasonable time from the criminal act, so that we do not establish a sense of impunity and so that [justice] acts as a deterrent to violent and criminal behavior,” the family said in a letter.
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. Four police officers who arrived at the scene were shown in a video hitting him while he was on the ground.
Two coroners called in to investigate the circumstances that led to the victim's death have ruled that he suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of the brutal beating.
