0605/2022

Summary title: Petition No 0605/2022 by Eleni Kostopoulos (Greek) on the killing of Zacharias Kostopoulos and impunity for police violence in Greece

Petition number: 0605/2022

Topics: Justice,  Fundamental Rights

Country: Greece

Name: E. P.

The petitioner draws attention to the killing of her son . She states that there is video footage showing the brutal and inhuman way four policemen and two civilians treated her son by kicking, hitting, dragging him on the pavement, while he was bleeding, suffocating and was in desperate need of medical attention. They handcuffed him so tightly that the paramedics could not cut through them and no effort to revive him was made whatsoever. She adds that three forensic reports concluded that all the blows that her son received caused his death. She complains that all the policemen were acquitted and that police brutality and unnecessary use of violence have taken huge dimensions in Greece. Therefore, she asks the Members to use their power to stop these practices that are contrary to democracy and justice and ensure respect of human life and dignity, adding that she is willing to present her petition to the Committee.