Roma community leaders appealed for calm after a teenager shot in the head last week by police, died in the hospital
The streets of the Greek capital Athens and its second largest city, Thessaloniki, were filled with protesters who marched against the death of a 16-year-old boy, who was shot last week by the police on December 5. The teenager who has not been named officially died on Tuesday, December 13, according to a report by the Guardian.
Authorities at the Thessaloniki’s Ippokratio hospital, where the boy was admitted, stated that “the patient died despite enormous efforts of staff in the intensive care unit”, the report said.
The boy who belonged to the Roma community was shot in the head, after he was chased by the police for not paying €20 euros at a petrol pump. The Police had claimed that the boy tried to ram his car into a police officer who was chasing him on a motorcycle. The shooting triggered violent protests for several days in Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as in other parts of the country.
“Everyone here is crying. It is unjust for a child to leave like this”, said Antonis Tasios, secretary of the Roma community from where the teenager lived, the report said. He further added, “We feel great pain”.
Report added that over 2500 people marched during a demonstration held in Thessaloniki where the teenager was from, after he died. Similar protests were also held in Athens after students along with anarchist groups called for demonstrations after hearing the news of his death.
Meanwhile, Police in Thessaloniki said, over 50 students from the university threw several molotov cocktails at the riot police during Tuesday´s protests. Local media has also reported cases of tyres being set on fire on the streets and road being blocked by protestors in different parts of Greece.
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