Witnesses in Pakistani murder trial focus on hate crime features of the case

Prosecution witnesses who testified on Friday in the murder trial of Lukman Shahzat, the 27-year-old Pakistani national stabbed to death a year ago in the district of Petralona, focused their testimony on racism and hate as a motive, a charge not included in the indictment against the two defendants in the case.

Main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) MP Vassiliki Katrovanou said that the cold-blooded murder was racially motivated, noting that the fact that the defendants, Dionyssis Liakopoulos and Christos Stergiopoulos, hid the number plates of their motorcycle and not the knife is in agreement with the sense of impunity that dominated in that period and their certainty that they wouldn't be prosecuted.

She also told the court that a total of 350 instances of racially motivated violence have been recorded in Greece, adding that “it is not a coincidence that the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights visited Greece, considering that there is strong concern in Europe over the issue.”

In her testimony, Migrant Integration Council president Maria Kouveli also spoke about a racially motivated crime, underlining that the victim was stabbed seven times.

International Federation for Human Rights president Dimitris Christopoulos said that it was a hate crime characterized by unjustifiable violence.

Pakistani Community president Javed Aslam said that the victim was a peace-loving and hardworking man. He said that a total of 40,000 Pakistanis live in Greece, half of them in Athens, adding that a total of 700 instances of violence have come to his attention as the president of the Migrant Workers' Union.

The defence lawyers called on the court to allow an investigation into their clients' phone records so it may be proven that they have no relations whatsoever with the ultra-right Golden Dawn party. Both defendants are also facing charges in the Golden Dawn case for participation in a criminal organization.

The trial will resume on February 14.