Probe opened into alleged revenge threats, case leaks in shooting of teen
Two new inquiries have been opened relating to an ongoing investigation into the shooting and serious injury of a Roma teenager by police in Thessaloniki last Monday.
The first investigation, carried out by the State Security, will look into statements made in the last 24 hours by members of the Roma community which allegedly call for reprisals over the shooting of the teen. Authorities will seek to determine whether those statements constitute a threat or an incitement to commit a crime.
The second probe, run by the Internal Affairs Division, will investigate a possible violation of judicial confidentiality, after parts of the material included in the main investigation was leaked to the press.
The officer accused of shooting and seriously wounding the 16-year-old boy was ordered on Friday to remain under house arrest, after a prosecutor and an investigating judge disagreed on whether he should be jailed until his trial.
The officer has been charged with a felony count of attempted manslaughter with possible intent, and a misdemeanor count of illegally firing his weapon over the Monday shooting, which has left the 16-year-old hospitalized in critical condition with a head wound.
Police have said the teenager tried to ram a police motorcycle involved in the chase, and the officer has said he fired his weapon because he believed his colleagues’ lives were in danger.
The shooting already sparked days of violent protests by members of the Roma community in Greece’s second-largest city, as well as Athens and other areas, with vehicles and at least one business torched and police coming under fire from shotguns.
[Kathimerini, AP]
