Albanian authorities not briefing family of killed ethnic Greek man, says lawyer

Albanian authorities handling the case of the fatal shooting of an ethnic Greek man by police on Sunday have not briefed his relatives on the case, a lawyer representing the family said on Thursday.

Konstantinos Giovanopoulos told state-run broadcaster ERT the investigation conducted by Albanian authorities into the death of Konstantinos Katsifas was “flawed” and that there were many obstacles for the representatives of the family.

He also said he was unsure whether the evidence collected would be able to help a court decide on the case.

“The family does not have any picture [of what is happening]. They have not been briefed, they have not been given any documents, the family is trying to find support in us,” he said.

“We do not know what will happen with the body. You cannot discuss [with authorities] in those terms or organise anything,” he added.

Giovanopoulos said he had faith in Greek justice which is running its own investigation on the case.

After talking to a Greek coroner who examined the body, Giovanopoulos told reporters on Wednesday Katsifas had not been shot at from close range and had two gun wounds in the chest.

According to him, the coroner Theodoros Vougiouklakis was permitted to examine the body of Katsifas for five minutes.