PHOTO REPORTAGE: Romani community in Prague honors the memory of the young Romani man shot by Greek Police
Approximately 20 people, most of them Romani, gathered in front of the Greek Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic to honor the memory of the 16-year-old Romani boy Kostas Fragoulis who was shot by a Greek police officer last week and passed away on Tuesday, 13 December. The event was convened by the chair of the Roma Luma political party, Marco Cavali.
“We want to express our condolences to the family of the boy who was shot,” Cavali said. “It is unacceptable that somebody kills our children. A 16-year-old boy is still a child to us.”
Cavali then recalled the still-unsolved death of a two-year-old boy, Demir, who went missing at the beginning of the summer holidays near the river Torysa in Slovakia and whose skull was found several days ago. Those attending held a minute of silence and lit candles by the embassy fence.
“Nobody has the right to take another person’s life, he did not give that person life,” Robert Vašíček told those gathered at the embassy, comparing the death of Mr. Fragoulis to the death of Mr. Stanislav Tomáš after a police intervention in June 2021 in Teplice, Czech Republic. Miroslav Tancoš, another attendee, said “I am sorry about what happened, our hearts ache. The police should atone for this.”
The second chair of Roma Luma, Emil Zajac, called on Romani people to light candles for the deceased in their towns. “The Greek Roma need to know that we are with them, that this hurts us too because we are Romani,” Zajac said.
Mr. Fragoulis died on Tuesday as the result of injuries sustained last week when a police officer shot him during a car chase. Doctors said he arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head.
After Mr. Fragoulis allegedly drove away from a gas station near Thessaloniki without paying EUR 20, a police officer fired his weapon twice while in pursuit and seriously injured him. The young man arrived at the hospital in critical condition, underwent an operation, and was in the intensive care unit.
The police shooting of the youth sparked protests by the Romani community throughout Greece, the representatives of which are criticizing the state for its racism. So far at least one police officer is arrested and police are investigating the case.
On Tuesday, after the announcement that Mr. Fragoulis had died, protests were attended by thousands of people in Athens and Thessaloniki. Non-Romani people attended those demonstrations as well.
