Four police officers are facing charges
in connection with the death of Zak Kostopoulos, a Greek LGBT
activist and drag performer.
The 33-year-old Kostopoulos died from
an apparent heart attack earlier this year on his way to the hospital
after he was beaten by two men who thought he was robbing a jewelry
store in an Athens shopping district.
(Related: Greek
LGBT activist dies after brutal beating.)
According to PinkNews,
four police officers, identified through surveillance footage,
allegedly beat Kostopoulos while he was on the ground before
arresting him.
Police claimed that Kostopoulos was a
drug addict who was wielding a knife, but an autopsy failed to find
drugs in his system and video footage shows police officers holding
the knife.
Kostopoulos was HIV positive and a
member of Positive Voice, a group that works to reduce stigma
associated with the disease. He performed drag under the name
“Zackie Oh.”
“His life was far from easy,”
friend and journalist Christina Michalou told PinkNews.
“Many times people would not shake his hand or would even avoid
being in the same room with him because they thought they could get
AIDS by breathing the same air or touching him. We always admired him
for his strength.”
The officers face charges of inflicting
harm resulting in death.