{{Short description|Greek LGBT activist (1985–2018)}} {{Use American English |date=October 2021 }} {{Use dmy dates |date=October 2021 }}

{{Infobox person | name = Zak Kostopoulos | image = 20170620 Zak Kostopoulos Exarchia.jpg | caption = Zak Kostopoulos in Exarchia, Athens in 2017 | birth_name = Zacharias Kostopoulos | native_name = Ζακ Κωστόπουλος | other_names = Zackie Oh | birth_date = {{birth date|1985|8|22|df=y}} | birth_place = United States of America | death_date = {{death date and age|2018|9|21|1985|8|22|df=y}} | death_place = Omonoia, Athens, Greece | occupation = LGBT activist, columnist, drag performer | years_active = }} '''Zacharias''' "'''Zak'''" '''Kostopoulos''' ({{langx|el|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 worked as a drag performer under the stage name '''Zackie Oh'''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.kathimerini.gr/987290/opinion/epikairothta/ellada/sth-syntomh-zwh-toy-etrexe-panta-na-3efygei-apo-kati |trans-title=In his short life, he was always running away to escape from something |script-title=el:Στη σύντομη ζωή του έτρεχε πάντα να ξεφύγει από κάτι |website=Kathimerini |first=Dimitris |last=Athinakis |date=29 September 2018 |access-date=8 October 2021 |language=el}}</ref><ref name="alias" /> He was killed on a busy street near Omonoia Square, Athens in broad daylight on 21 September 2018. First beaten by civilians and later by the police, he died while on the way to the hospital. Two men were found guilty of his murder.

==Family life and career== Kostopoulos was born in the United States of America in 1985 to a Greek immigrant family. The family returned to Greece when he was seven. Kostopoulos went abroad again as a young man, and eventually returned to Greece.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kar.org.gr/2018/09/23/o-aktivistis-antifasistas-zak-kostopoylos-itan-o-antras-poy-pethane-sti-listeia-sto-kosmimatopoleio/ |trans-title=The activist-antifascist, Zak Kostopoulos, was the man who died in robbery at the jewelry store |script-title=el:Ο ακτιβιστής-αντιφασίστας, Ζακ Κωστοπούλος, ήταν ο άντρας που πέθανε στη ληστεία στο κοσμηματοπωλείο |publisher=Deport Racism Organization |language=el |date=23 September 2018 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref><ref name="interview">{{Cite web | url=https://frapress.gr/2015/02/sinentefxi-apo-ton-zak-kostopoulo/ |trans-title=Interview with Zak Kostopoulos! |script-title=el:Συνέντευξη από τον Ζακ Κωστόπουλο! |first=Danae Nadia |last=Loizou-Manske |website=Frapress |language=el |date=26 February 2015 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref> He studied acting and marketing in school.<ref name="interview"/>

In the municipal elections of 2014, Kostopoulos stood for election to the Athens municipal council on the electoral list {{lang|el|Π.Ν.ΟΙΚ.Α}} ('Initiative for a New and Ecological Athens', {{lang|el|Πρωτοβουλία για μια Νέα και Οικολογική Αθήνα}}), but lost.<ref name="Antivirus">{{Cite news |url=https://avmag.gr/46202/zak-kostopoulos-na-simmetechoume-na-imaste-orati-ke-orates/ |trans-title=Zak Kostopoulos: "To participate, to be visible and visible" |script-title=el:Ζακ Κωστόπουλος&nbsp;: «Να συμμετέχουμε, να είμαστε ορατοί και ορατές» |website=Antivirus Magazine |language=el |date=9 May 2014 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref> He was also HIV positive.<ref name="Antivirus"/>

===Activist work=== Kostopoulos worked at the "Athens Check Point", and volunteered with the Positive Voice—an association of HIV-positive people of Greece—writing articles on the internet and for newspapers.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://popaganda.gr/zak-kostopoulos-o-hiv-den-ine-anikitos/ |trans-title=The Life of Zak Kostopoulos as told in Popaganda |script-title=el:Η ζωή του Ζακ Κωστόπουλου όπως τη διηγήθηκε στην Popaganda |website=Popaganda |language=el |first=Eleni |last=Kyriakidou |date=1 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.documentonews.gr/article/gia-ton-zak-kwstopoylo-h-perioysia-den-einai-pio-ierh-apo-thn-anthrwpinh-zwh |trans-title=For Zak Kostopoulos: Wealth is not more sacred than human life |script-title=el:Για τον Ζακ Κωστόπουλο: Η περιουσία δεν είναι πιο ιερή από την ανθρώπινη ζωή |work=Documento News |language=el |date=15 January 2021 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref> He was the president of the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (OLKE) organization.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.neolaia.gr/2014/04/16/i-pnoika-ioanna-kontouli-athina/ |script-title=el:Η «Π.Ν.ΟΙΚ.Α» της Ιωάννα Κοντούλη για την Αθήνα |trans-title=The "PNOIKA" by Ioanna Kontouli for Athens |work=Neolaia.gr |language=el |date=16 April 2014 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref> Kostopoulos participated in drag performances in Athens under the alias, "Zackie Oh".<ref name="alias">{{cite web | url=https://www.lifo.gr/now/greece/208741/o-aktivistis-zak-kostopoylos-itan-o-antras-poy-pethane-sti-listeia-sto-kosmimatopoleio |trans-title=Activist Zak Kostopoulos was the man who died in the robbery at the jewelry store |script-title=el:Ο ακτιβιστής Ζακ Κωστόπουλος ήταν ο άντρας που πέθανε στη ληστεία στο κοσμηματοπωλείο |language=el |work=Lifo |date=22 September 2018 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref> In 2017, he performed Disco Inferno at Athens Pride.<ref name=pri>{{cite news | url=https://theworld.org/stories/2019/09/25/killing-gay-activist-greece-has-sparked-new-movement |title=A Year After an LGBTQ Activist's Murder in Greece, His Memory Lives on in 'Our Politics and Our Action,' Protesters Say |last1=Lavelle |first1=Moira |publisher=Public Radio International |language=en |date=25 September 2019 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref>

==Death== {{anchor|Killing of Zak Kostopoulos}} Kostopoulos was killed on 21 September 2018 at Gladstonos Street in the center of Athens,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://tvxs.gr/news/ellada/oikogeneia-zak-na-zitisei-dimosia-syggnomi-o-portosalte |trans-title=Zak's family: Portosalte to apologize publicly |script-title=el:Οικογένεια Ζακ: Να ζητήσει δημόσια συγγνώμη ο Πορτοσάλτε |publisher=TVXS.gr |language=el |date=21 October 2020 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.news247.gr/koinonia/zak-kostopoylos-pos-apo-tis-diarroes-tis-el-as-ftasame-stin-alitheia.6669056.html |trans-title=Zak Kostopoulos: How from the leaks of Hellenic Police we have reached the truth |script-title=el:Ζακ Κωστόπουλος: Πώς από τις διαρροές της ΕΛ.ΑΣ. φτάσαμε στην αλήθεια |website=News247 |first=Christos |last=Demetis |language=el |date=20 November 2018 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kathimerini.gr/society/561124858/giati-synechizete-tha-ton-skotosete/ |script-title=el:«Γιατί συνεχίζετε, θα τον σκοτώσετε» |trans-title=Γιατί συνεχίζετε, θα τον σκοτώσετε |work=Kathimerini |language=el |first=Giannis |last=Souliotis |date=21 October 2020 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref> and was buried in the town of Kirra where he grew up.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/09/26/zak-kostopoulos-funeral-greece-mob-attack-gay-activist/ |title=Friends Celebrate Zak Kostopoulos—Gay Activist Killed in Greece—With Glitter and Drag |work=PinkNews |first=Sofia Lotto |last=Persio |language=en |date=26 September 2018 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref>

It is unknown how Kostopoulos entered the jewelry shop on Gladstonos street where his killing began.<ref name=fa>{{cite web |title=The Killing of Zak Kostopoulos |url=https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/the-killing-of-zak-kostopoulos |website=Forensic Architecture |access-date=7 October 2021}}</ref> Another Greek LGBT activist, {{ill|Grigoris Vallianatos|el|Γρηγόρης Βαλλιανάτος}}, said that he entered the shop to escape an altercation on the street.<ref name=pinknews>{{cite news |title=Gay activist lynched to death in Greece |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/09/24/gay-activist-zak-kostopoulos-lynched-to-death-in-greece/ |access-date=7 October 2021 |work=PinkNews |date=24 September 2018}}</ref> Videos of the killing show Kostopoulos unarmed and trying to escape from the store as he is being attacked by the store's owner and another man, a real estate agent who was a high-ranking member of the National Front.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alexakis |first1=Dimitris |title="Like a prayer": In Memory of Zak Kostopoulos |url=https://conversations.e-flux.com/t/like-a-prayer-in-memory-of-zak-kostopoulos/8516 |access-date=7 October 2021 |work=e-flux |date=November 2018 |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315040802/https://conversations.e-flux.com/t/like-a-prayer-in-memory-of-zak-kostopoulos/8516 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After a window was broken by the owner, Kostopoulos crawled out, was kicked in the head, and fell to the ground.<ref name=pinknews/> When police arrived at the scene, despite his injuries, Kostopoulos was apprehended and handcuffed. They also beat him, and he died on the way to the hospital.<ref name="fa" /> An eyewitness, Philippos Karagiorgis, described the killing as a "lynching" and criticized onlookers for "...watching as if it was a movie..." instead of intervening.<ref name="guardian" />

The police did not immediately arrest the perpetrators of the killing, interview all the witnesses present, or seal off the crime scene.<ref name="fa" /> Initial Greek media reports said that Kostopoulos was a drug addict who was committing a robbery of the jewelry shop. A forensic analysis, however, found no traces of drugs in his system. The coroner found that he had died of multiple injuries, especially to his head.<ref name=guardian>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Helena |title='Zak's an icon': the long fight for justice over death of Greek LGBT activist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/long-fight-for-justice-over-death-of-greek-lgbt-activist-zak-kostopoulos |access-date=6 October 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=20 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Kostopoulos' family commissioned the UK-based research center Forensic Architecture to investigate his death. Forensic Architecture found that the police had overlooked twelve cameras that were recording the scene and failed to question a key witness who appeared in the footage.<ref name="guardian" /> As a result of the Forensic Architecture investigation, the case was reopened in 2019.<ref name="fa" />

Six people, including four police officers, the shop owner, and another man who was filmed beating Kostopoulos, were charged with inflicting "fatal bodily harm" causing death. Kostopoulos' family wanted his death to be tried as murder.<ref name= "pri"/> The trial, that presiding judge Giorgos Kassimis described as "historic", was originally scheduled for October 2020, but was delayed due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece. Finally, the trial began 21 October 2021.<ref>{{cite news | last1=Ξυνού |first1=Αντωνία |title=Δολοφονία Ζακ Κωστόπουλου: Τρία χρόνια συγκάλυψης και συνεχών ανατροπών |url=https://www.news247.gr/koinonia/tria-chronia-choris-ton-zak-kostopoylo.9362013.html |access-date=7 October 2021 |work=www.news247.gr |date=21 September 2021 |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/20/greece-trial-begins-in-violent-death-of-lgbtq-activist |title=Greece: Trial begins in violent death of LGBTQ activist |agency=Agence France-Presse |via=Euronews |language=en |date=21 October 2021 |access-date=21 October 2021 }}</ref> On 3 May 2022, two men were found guilty, while the police officers were found innocent.<ref>{{Cite web | date=3 May 2022 |title=Two found guilty in Kostopoulos killing trial |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1183462/two-found-guilty-in-kostopoulos-killing-trial/ |access-date=24 July 2022 |website=Kathimerini |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Στέφου |first1=Ολγα |title=Η δίκη για την δολοφονία του Ζακ Κωστόπουλου φέρνει στην επιφάνεια τη σύγκρουση δύο κόσμων |url=https://www.in.gr/2020/10/20/apopsi/diki-gia-tin-dolofonia-tou-zak-kostopoulou-fernei-stin-epifaneia-ti-sygkrousi-dyo-kosmon/ |access-date=7 October 2021 |work=in.gr |date=20 October 2020 |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | date=3 May 2022 |title=Convicted Kostopoulos Killers Given 10-year Sentence |url= https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1183470/convicted-kostopoulos-killers-given-10-year-sentence/ |access-date=24 July 2022 |website=Kathimerini |language=en}}</ref>

==Legacy== In 2018, 2019, and 2021 activists organized marches in Athens to commemorate Kostopoulos' death and call for justice against his killers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Papadopoulos |first1=Kosta |title=Athens Rally Held To Commemorate Death Of LGBTIQ Activist Zak Kostopoulos |url=https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/09/22/athens-rally-held-to-commemorate-death-of-lgbtiq-activist-zak-kostopoulos/ |access-date=6 October 2021}}</ref> The slogan "Zackie lives, smash the Nazis"{{efn|name=note|Greek: {{lang|el|Η Ζάκι ζει, τσακίστε τους Ναζί}} ({{transliteration|el|I Záki zei, tsakíste tous Nazí}})}} was chanted at events across the country.<ref name="pri" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 September 2020 |script-title=el:Ζακ Κωστόπουλος&nbsp;: Συγκέντρωση για τα δύο χρόνια από τη δολοφονία του |trans-title=Zak Kostopoulos: Gathering for the two year anniversary of his murder |work=To Vima |url=https://www.tovima.gr/2020/09/20/society/zak-kostopoulos-sygkentrosi-kai-poreia-diamartyrias-gia-ta-dyo-xronia-apo-ti-dolofonia-tou/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/09/22/athens-rally-held-to-commemorate-death-of-lgbtiq-activist-zak-kostopoulos/ |title=Athens Rally Held To Commemorate Death Of LGBTIQ Activist Zak Kostopoulos |last1=Papadopoulos |first1=Kosta |date=22 September 2021 |access-date=8 October 2021 }}</ref>

In 2019, Nasos Iliopoulos, who is the leader of the Syriza faction inside the Municipal Council of Athens, proposed the renaming of Gladstonos street ({{langx|el|οδός Γλάδστωνος}}) to Zak Kostopoulos street ({{langx|el|οδός Ζακ Κωστόπουλου|link=no}}).<ref>{{Cite web | date=30 September 2019 |script-title=el:Κατατέθηκε η πρόταση Ηλιόπουλου για μετονομασία της οδού Γλάδστωνος σε Ζακ Κωστόπουλου |trans-title=Iliopoulos's proposal for renaming Gladstonos Street to Zak Kostopoulos was submitted |url=https://www.skai.gr/news/greece/katatethike-i-protasi-iliopoulou-gia-metonomasia-tis-odou-gladstonos-se-zak-kostopoulou |access-date=2021-10-13 |publisher=Skai Group |language=el }}</ref> The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, responded with a counter-proposal to create a monument against intolerance, racism, and hatred, that the majority voted in favor of.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chatzigeorgiou |first=Aris |date=14 October 2019 |script-title=el:Η αντιπρόταση Μπακογιάννη για το μνημείο του Ζακ Κωστόπουλου στη Γλάδστωνος |trans-title=Bakoyannis' counter-proposal for the monument of Zak Kostopoulos in Gladstonos |url=https://www.ethnos.gr/ellada/66656_i-antiprotasi-mpakogianni-gia-mnimeio-toy-zak-kostopoyloy-sti-gladstonos |access-date=2021-10-13 |work=Ethnos |language=el }}</ref>

In 2021, a researcher at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki named a newly discovered species of cyanobacteria, the ''Iphianassa zackieohae'', after Kostopoulos.<ref>{{cite news |date=13 October 2021 |trans-title=Researcher Gave the Names of Pavlos Fyssas and Zak to New Scientific Genres |script-title=el:Ερευνητής έδωσε τα ονόματα του Παύλου Φύσσα και Ζακ σε νέα επιστημονικά είδη |language=el |website=In.gr |url=https://www.in.gr/2021/10/13/uncategorized/ereynitis-edose-ta-onomata-tou-paylou-fyssa-kai-zak-se-nea-epistimonika-eidi/ |access-date=13 October 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Vagias |first=Andreas |date=14 October 2021 |trans-title=AUT: Researchers discovered new cyanobacteria and brought Pavlos Fyssas and Zak Kostopoulos to immortality through science |script-title=el:ΑΠΘ: Ερευνητές ανακάλυψαν νέα κυανοβακτήρια και πέρασαν τον Παύλο Φύσσα και τον Ζακ Κωστόπουλο στην αθανασία μέσω της επιστήμης |language=el |website=Ethnos |url=https://www.ethnos.gr/ellada/178180_apth-ereynites-anakalypsan-nea-kyanobaktiria-kai-perasan-ton-paylo-fyssa-kai-ton-zak |access-date=14 October 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=Unravelling unknown cyanobacteria diversity linked with HCN production| journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution| first1=Manthos| last1=Panou| first2=Spyros| last2=Gkelis| date=October 7, 2021| volume=166 | article-number=107322| doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107322| pmid=34626811 | s2cid=238532178 }}</ref>

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite journal |last1=Anna |first1=T. |title=Drag Resistance : Necropolitics, queer survival and a Balkan counterpublics |journal=Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture |date=2021 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=159–174 |doi=10.1386/qsmpc_00051_1|s2cid=244176155 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostopoulos, Zak}} Category:Violence against LGBTQ people in Europe Category:Violence against men in Greece Category:Violence against gay men Category:2018 in Greece Category:2010s in Athens Category:Police brutality in the 2010s Category:September 2018 in Europe Category:1985 births Category:2018 deaths Category:American murder victims Category:Greek murder victims Category:Deaths by beating in Europe Category:2018 murders in Greece Category:Gay politicians Category:American gay actors Category:American gay writers Category:American drag queens Category:20th-century Greek LGBTQ people Category:21st-century Greek LGBTQ people Category:Greek gay actors Category:Greek gay writers Category:Greek drag queens Category:American LGBTQ journalists Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state) Category:American HIV/AIDS activists Category:People with HIV/AIDS Category:Greek LGBTQ rights activists Category:2018 in LGBTQ history Category:American activists with disabilities Category:American people of Greek descent Category:People murdered in Greece Category:LGBTQ rights activists from New York (state)