Zak Kostopoulos

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 was also a drag performer under the name Zackie Oh.[1][2] He was killed at the center of Athens. A trial is pending for his death.

Zak Kostopoulos
Ζακ Κωστόπουλος
Zak Kostopoulos in Exarchia, Athens in 2017
Born
Zak Kostopoulos

(1985-08-22)22 August 1985
United States of America
Died21 September 2018(2018-09-21) (aged 33)
Omonoia, Athens, Greece
Other namesZackie Oh
OccupationLGBT activist, actor, columnist, drag performer, politician

Life and career

He was born in the United States of America in 1985 to a Greek immigrant family, came to Greece at the age of seven, went abroad again and returned.[3][4]

He studied acting and marketing.[4] He worked at the "Athens Check Point",[5] and volunteered with Positive Voice (Association of HIV-positive people of Greece),[4] while writing articles on the internet and in newspapers[6] for issues related to human rights, sexuality and HIV. He was also the president of the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (OLKE).[7] In the municipal elections of 2014, he 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).[8] In recent years he participated in drag performances in Athens with the alias "Zackie Oh".[2] He was HIV positive.[8]

In 2017, he performed Disco Inferno at the end of Athens Pride.[9]

Death

He was killed on 21 September 2018 at Gladstonos Street in the center of Athens.[10][11][12] For his death, 6 people have been charged, but the trial of the case had been postponed due to the measures against COVID-19 pandemic in Greece. However in October 21st 2021 the trial began of 6 people including 4 police officers for his murder[13]

Legacy

Kostopoulos was buried in the town of Kirra where he grew up.[14] Since 2018, people organize yearly marches in Athens to commemorate Kostopoulos' death and call for justice against his killers.[9][15][16] The slogans "Zackie lives, smash the Nazis" (which rhymes in Greek: Η Ζάκι ζει, τσακίστε τους ναζί) and "cops, TV, neo-Nazis, all the bastards work together" (μπάτσοι, τιβί, νεοναζί, όλα τα καθάρματα δουλεύουνε μαζί) were chanted at events across the country.[9][17]

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).[18] The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, responded with a counter-proposal to create a monument against intolerance, racism, and hatred, which the majority voted in favor.[19]

In 2021, a scientific researcher of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, named two newly-discovered species of cyanobacteria, the Iphianassa zackieohae and the Speos fyssasii, after the activists Zak Kostopoulos and Pavlos Fyssas respectively.[20][21][22]

References
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Loizou-Manske, Danae Nadia (26 February 2015). Συνέντευξη από τον Ζακ Κωστόπουλο! [Interview with Zak Kostopoulos!]. Frapress (in Greek). Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  5. 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).
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Souliotis, Giannis (21 October 2020). «Γιατί συνεχίζετε, θα τον σκοτώσετε» [Γιατί συνεχίζετε, θα τον σκοτώσετε]. Kathimerini (in Greek). Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  13. "Greece: Trial begins in violent death of LGBTQ activist". Agence France-Presse. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via Euronews.
  14. Persio, Sofia Lotto (26 September 2018). "Friends celebrate Zak Kostopoulos, gay activist killed in Greece, with glitter and drag". PinkNews. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  15. 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.
  16. Papadopoulos, Kosta (22 September 2021). "Athens Rally Held To Commemorate Death Of LGBTIQ Activist Zak Kostopoulos". Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  17. «Η Ζάκι ζει, τσακίστε τους ναζί» [Zackie lives, smash the Nazis]. Efimerida ton Syntakton (in Greek). 21 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
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