The 34-year-old police officer accused of the fatal shooting of 16-year-old roma boy Kostas Fragoulis beginning of the month has been released from custody on condition that he will not leave the country.
The decision of the officer’s release was announced on Monday by the Judicial council in Thessaloniki.
The council’s intervention was necessary as the examining magistrate and the prosecutor disagreed whether the suspect should be remanded in custody.
The public prosecutor in charge of the case had recommended that the police officer remain in custody until trial since, in his judgement, an officer with his training and experience should not have opened fire in the specific instance.
The police officer in question had been placed under house arrest until the council issued its decision in his case.
It should be noted that the Council examined the officer’s file with the initial charges of “attempted murder with possible intent.”
After the death of the victim on December 13, the examining magistrate is expected to charge the officer with “homicide with possible intent,” media report.
He will also be summoned to give additional deposition to the examining magistrate on the new charges of homicide through consciously reckless actions.
The Roma community reacted to the police officer’s release saying “we are deeply disappointed,” as the Panhellenic Confederation of Greek Roma, “Ellan Passe” stated in a public statement.
The parents and relatives of the victim are reportedly preparing an appeal against the decision, with the aim to bring the issue even to Greece’s Supreme court Areios Pagos.
16-year-old victim Kostas Fragoulis was shot in the back of his head by the police officer during a chase after he left a gas station without paying 20 euros for gasoline.
After a surgery to remove the bullet, the victim struggled for life intubated in the ICU of a hospital in Thessaloniki for nine days.
The shooting sparked riots by the Roma community who saw a “racist motive.”
