After an eight-day battle for life, the 16-year-old Roma who was shot by a policeman during a police chase in Thessaloniki has died.
The hospital where he was hospitalized in critical condition announced yesterday that the boy died despite the efforts of the doctors.
In a comatose state, with a wound in the head area from a firearm, the boy was admitted to the Thessaloniki hospital on December 5 at two in the morning, he was immediately operated on and transferred to intensive care, where he was treated in the past days, but succumbed to of the injuries.
Last Monday, the 16-year-old stopped at a gas station, filled up gas for 20 euros, ran away without paying and the police were immediately informed, after which police officers on motorbikes chased the vehicle driven by the boy, who, after not responding to requests and orders to stop, according to the media, was shot in the head by one of the policemen.
The policeman who shot the boy was brought before an investigative judge in Thessaloniki on Friday and according to Greek media, he said he acted in self-defense because of the danger his colleagues were in when the minor driver tried to hit them with his car, and regarding the shots indicated that he aimed low at the tires and not at the driver.
The policeman is under house arrest, and further it will be decided whether he will be transferred to one of the Greek prisons.
Greece's Minister of Civil Protection responsible for the police, Takis Theodorikakos, expressed "deep regret for the death of the 16-year-old boy and condolences to the family" via Twitter.
- I repeat that the case is being investigated by justice, which is solely competent to evaluate the facts and judge the responsibilities. Let us all respect that, wrote Theodorikakos.
Last week, because of the case, in several Roma settlements, both in Athens and in Thessaloniki, the Roma caused serious incidents. By the way, the IRU and its president Mr. Zoran Dimov, sent a reaction to the official Greek authorities (specifically to the Embassy of the Republic of Greece in Skopje) about this event a week ago, but unfortunately there is still no response from the Greek side about this case.
