The real estate broker convicted over the 2018 death of LGBTQI+ activist Zak Kostopoulos has walked free from prison on conditions, after an appeals council in Piraeus ruled in his favour.
Athanasios Chortarias had been serving a six-year sentence since 2024. He was convicted of fatal bodily harm as a direct co-perpetrator, for an offence committed in 2018.
His lawyer, Ioannis Glykas, said the Piraeus Council of Appeal Judges accepted his appeal against an earlier ruling by a lower judicial council in Piraeus, which had rejected his request. The appeals council overturned that ruling and ordered that he be freed on conditions.
According to the lawyer, the decision was in full agreement with the prosecutor’s recommendation.
Why Zak Kostopoulos case broker was freed
The lawyer said his client met the formal legal requirements for early conditional freedom when he filed his application. He added that the council also found he met the substantive conditions.
Those conditions included good conduct in prison, the days he worked while in custody, a stable and permanent address once freed and a job to go to. Early freedom on conditions is a standard part of the Greek penal system once part of a sentence has been served.
However, the exact restrictive conditions imposed on him were not made public.
A death that shook Greece
Zak Kostopoulos, a 33-year-old activist and drag performer known as Zackie Oh, died in September 2018 after being beaten inside a jewellery shop in central Athens. Video of the attack circulated widely and sparked protests.
His death became a symbol for Greece’s LGBTQI+ community and for campaigners against police violence. Every year, rallies in Athens mark the anniversary and demand justice for him.
The case went through a long legal process, with a first-instance trial followed by an appeal. Ultimately, the broker’s final conviction led to the six-year sentence he began serving in 2024.
Supporters of Zak Kostopoulos have long argued that the penalties in the case were too lenient. There was no immediate public reaction from his family.
(Source: ERT News)
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