Zak Kostopoulos

Zak Kostopoulos
Zak Kostopoulos
Ζακ Κωστόπουλος
	Zak Kostopoulos in Exarchia, Athens in 2017
Born	Zacharias Kostopoulos; 22 August 1985; United States of America
Died	21 September 2018 (aged 33); Omonoia, Athens, Greece
Other names	Zackie Oh
Occupation(s)	LGBT activist, columnist, drag performer

Zacharias "Zak" Kostopoulos (Greek: Ζαχαρίας «Ζακ» Κωστόπουλος; 22 August 1985 – 21 September 2018) was a Greek-American activist, defending the rights of LGBT people, HIV-positive people, sex workers, and refugees. He worked as a drag performer under the stage name Zackie Oh.^[1]^[2] He was killed on a busy street near Omonoia Square, Athens in broad daylight on 21 September 2018. First beaten by civilians and later by the police, he died while on the way to the hospital. Two men were found guilty of his murder.

Family life and career

Kostopoulos was born in the United States of America in 1985 to a Greek immigrant family. The family returned to Greece when he was seven. Kostopoulos went abroad again as a young man, and eventually returned to Greece.^[3]^[4] He studied acting and marketing in school.^[4]

In the municipal elections of 2014, Kostopoulos stood for election to the Athens municipal council on the electoral list Π.Ν.ΟΙΚ.Α ('Initiative for a New and Ecological Athens', Πρωτοβουλία για μια Νέα και Οικολογική Αθήνα), but lost.^[5] He was also HIV positive.^[5]

Activist work

Kostopoulos worked at the "Athens Check Point", and volunteered with the Positive Voice—an association of HIV-positive people of Greece—writing articles on the internet and for newspapers.^[6]^[7] He was the president of the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (OLKE) organization.^[8] Kostopoulos participated in drag performances in Athens under the alias, "Zackie Oh".^[2] In 2017, he performed Disco Inferno at Athens Pride.^[9]

Death

Kostopoulos was killed on 21 September 2018 at Gladstonos Street in the center of Athens,^[10]^[11]^[12] and was buried in the town of Kirra where he grew up.^[13]

It is unknown how Kostopoulos entered the jewelry shop on Gladstonos street where his killing began.^[14] Another Greek LGBT activist, Grigoris Vallianatos [el], said that he entered the shop to escape an altercation on the street.^[15] Videos of the killing show Kostopoulos unarmed and trying to escape from the store as he is being attacked by the store's owner and another man, a real estate agent who was a high-ranking member of the National Front.^[16] After a window was broken by the owner, Kostopoulos crawled out, was kicked in the head, and fell to the ground.^[15] When police arrived at the scene, despite his injuries, Kostopoulos was apprehended and handcuffed. They also beat him, and he died on the way to the hospital.^[14] An eyewitness, Philippos Karagiorgis, described the killing as a "lynching" and criticized onlookers for "...watching as if it was a movie..." instead of intervening.^[17]

The police did not immediately arrest the perpetrators of the killing, interview all the witnesses present, or seal off the crime scene.^[14] Initial Greek media reports said that Kostopoulos was a drug addict who was committing a robbery of the jewelry shop. A forensic analysis, however, found no traces of drugs in his system. The coroner found that he had died of multiple injuries, especially to his head.^[17] Kostopoulos' family commissioned the UK-based research center Forensic Architecture to investigate his death. Forensic Architecture found that the police had overlooked twelve cameras that were recording the scene and failed to question a key witness who appeared in the footage.^[17] As a result of the Forensic Architecture investigation, the case was reopened in 2019.^[14]

Six people, including four police officers, the shop owner, and another man who was filmed beating Kostopoulos, were charged with inflicting "fatal bodily harm" causing death. Kostopoulos' family wanted his death to be tried as murder.^[9] The trial, that presiding judge Giorgos Kassimis described as "historic", was originally scheduled for October 2020, but was delayed due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece. Finally, the trial began 21 October 2021.^[18]^[19] On 3 May 2022, two men were found guilty, while the police officers were found innocent.^[20]^[21]^[22]

Legacy

In 2018, 2019, and 2021 activists organized marches in Athens to commemorate Kostopoulos' death and call for justice against his killers.^[23] The slogan "Zackie lives, smash the Nazis" ^[a] was chanted at events across the country.^[9]^[24]^[25]

In 2019, Nasos Iliopoulos, who is the leader of the Syriza faction inside the Municipal Council of Athens, proposed the renaming of Gladstonos street (Greek: οδός Γλάδστωνος) to Zak Kostopoulos street (Greek: οδός Ζακ Κωστόπουλου).^[26] The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, responded with a counter-proposal to create a monument against intolerance, racism, and hatred, that the majority voted in favor of.^[27]

In 2021, a researcher at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki named a newly discovered species of cyanobacteria, the Iphianassa zackieohae, after Kostopoulos.^[28]^[29]^[30]

Notes

^ Greek: Η Ζάκι ζει, τσακίστε τους Ναζί (I Záki zei, tsakíste tous Nazí)

References

^ Athinakis, Dimitris (29 September 2018). Στη σύντομη ζωή του έτρεχε πάντα να ξεφύγει από κάτι [In his short life, he was always running away to escape from something]. Kathimerini (in Greek). Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Ο ακτιβιστής Ζακ Κωστόπουλος ήταν ο άντρας που πέθανε στη ληστεία στο κοσμηματοπωλείο [Activist Zak Kostopoulos was the man who died in the robbery at the jewelry store]. Lifo (in Greek). 22 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Ο ακτιβιστής-αντιφασίστας, Ζακ Κωστοπούλος, ήταν ο άντρας που πέθανε στη ληστεία στο κοσμηματοπωλείο [The activist-antifascist, Zak Kostopoulos, was the man who died in robbery at the jewelry store] (in Greek). Deport Racism Organization. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Loizou-Manske, Danae Nadia (26 February 2015). Συνέντευξη από τον Ζακ Κωστόπουλο! [Interview with Zak Kostopoulos!]. Frapress (in Greek). Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Ζακ Κωστόπουλος : «Να συμμετέχουμε, να είμαστε ορατοί και ορατές» [Zak Kostopoulos: "To participate, to be visible and visible"]. Antivirus Magazine (in Greek). 9 May 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Kyriakidou, Eleni (1 December 2014). Η ζωή του Ζακ Κωστόπουλου όπως τη διηγήθηκε στην Popaganda [The Life of Zak Kostopoulos as told in Popaganda]. Popaganda (in Greek).
^ Για τον Ζακ Κωστόπουλο: Η περιουσία δεν είναι πιο ιερή από την ανθρώπινη ζωή [For Zak Kostopoulos: Wealth is not more sacred than human life]. Documento News (in Greek). 15 January 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Η «Π.Ν.ΟΙΚ.Α» της Ιωάννα Κοντούλη για την Αθήνα [The "PNOIKA" by Ioanna Kontouli for Athens]. Neolaia.gr (in Greek). 16 April 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lavelle, Moira (25 September 2019). "A Year After an LGBTQ Activist's Murder in Greece, His Memory Lives on in 'Our Politics and Our Action,' Protesters Say". Public Radio International. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Οικογένεια Ζακ: Να ζητήσει δημόσια συγγνώμη ο Πορτοσάλτε [Zak's family: Portosalte to apologize publicly] (in Greek). TVXS.gr. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Demetis, Christos (20 November 2018). Ζακ Κωστόπουλος: Πώς από τις διαρροές της ΕΛ.ΑΣ. φτάσαμε στην αλήθεια [Zak Kostopoulos: How from the leaks of Hellenic Police we have reached the truth]. News247 (in Greek). Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Souliotis, Giannis (21 October 2020). «Γιατί συνεχίζετε, θα τον σκοτώσετε» [Γιατί συνεχίζετε, θα τον σκοτώσετε]. Kathimerini (in Greek). Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Persio, Sofia Lotto (26 September 2018). "Friends Celebrate Zak Kostopoulos—Gay Activist Killed in Greece—With Glitter and Drag". PinkNews. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "The Killing of Zak Kostopoulos". Forensic Architecture. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Gay activist lynched to death in Greece". PinkNews. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
^ Alexakis, Dimitris (November 2018). ""Like a prayer": In Memory of Zak Kostopoulos". e-flux. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Smith, Helena (20 December 2020). "'Zak's an icon': the long fight for justice over death of Greek LGBT activist". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
^ Ξυνού, Αντωνία (21 September 2021). "Δολοφονία Ζακ Κωστόπουλου: Τρία χρόνια συγκάλυψης και συνεχών ανατροπών". www.news247.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 7 October 2021.
^ "Greece: Trial begins in violent death of LGBTQ activist". Agence France-Presse. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via Euronews.
^ "Two found guilty in Kostopoulos killing trial". Kathimerini. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Στέφου, Ολγα (20 October 2020). "Η δίκη για την δολοφονία του Ζακ Κωστόπουλου φέρνει στην επιφάνεια τη σύγκρουση δύο κόσμων". in.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 7 October 2021.
^ "Convicted Kostopoulos Killers Given 10-year Sentence". Kathimerini. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Papadopoulos, Kosta. "Athens Rally Held To Commemorate Death Of LGBTIQ Activist Zak Kostopoulos". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
^ Ζακ Κωστόπουλος : Συγκέντρωση για τα δύο χρόνια από τη δολοφονία του [Zak Kostopoulos: Gathering for the two year anniversary of his murder]. To Vima. 20 September 2020.
^ Papadopoulos, Kosta (22 September 2021). "Athens Rally Held To Commemorate Death Of LGBTIQ Activist Zak Kostopoulos". Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Κατατέθηκε η πρόταση Ηλιόπουλου για μετονομασία της οδού Γλάδστωνος σε Ζακ Κωστόπουλου [Iliopoulos's proposal for renaming Gladstonos Street to Zak Kostopoulos was submitted] (in Greek). Skai Group. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
^ Chatzigeorgiou, Aris (14 October 2019). Η αντιπρόταση Μπακογιάννη για το μνημείο του Ζακ Κωστόπουλου στη Γλάδστωνος [Bakoyannis' counter-proposal for the monument of Zak Kostopoulos in Gladstonos]. Ethnos (in Greek). Retrieved 13 October 2021.
^ Ερευνητής έδωσε τα ονόματα του Παύλου Φύσσα και Ζακ σε νέα επιστημονικά είδη [Researcher Gave the Names of Pavlos Fyssas and Zak to New Scientific Genres]. In.gr (in Greek). 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
^ Vagias, Andreas (14 October 2021). ΑΠΘ: Ερευνητές ανακάλυψαν νέα κυανοβακτήρια και πέρασαν τον Παύλο Φύσσα και τον Ζακ Κωστόπουλο στην αθανασία μέσω της επιστήμης [AUT: Researchers discovered new cyanobacteria and brought Pavlos Fyssas and Zak Kostopoulos to immortality through science]. Ethnos (in Greek). Retrieved 14 October 2021.
^ Panou, Manthos; Gkelis, Spyros (7 October 2021). "Unravelling unknown cyanobacteria diversity linked with HCN production". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 166: Article 107322. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107322. PMID 34626811. S2CID 238532178.