Post a comment
A police officer who allegedly shot and killed 23-year-old Sierra Leonean migrant, Fatmata has been Indicted, according to the Second Tree, a Greek organization.
Fatmata was shot to death in North Macedonia on Wednesday, 19th April, 2023 soon after she and her husband, Abu Bakar crossed the border from Greece.
It was reported that the couple were denied asylum by Greece and was heading for Western Europe when they met the tragedy. The North Macedonian police alleged that the bullet was pulled out by mistake as one of the migrants, including the deceased tried to grab a weapon from a police officer.
However, witnesses refuted the police claims and made a video calling on all Macedonians and the government to help them get justice and find out why a police would shoot at an unharmed woman.
The husband, despite going through shock of his wife’s demise, was arrested and kept in police custody for a day with no information about his late wife.
He was later released and offered a transfer to the border to continue his journey but he refused the offer to seek justice for his wife. The husband, ever since, has been seeking fair trial till recently the Second Tree announced the recent development.
The post states: “We have great news: the policeman who shot Fatmata has been indicted! The Public Prosecutor has accepted our pledge to go to trial for the shooting of Fatmata, Abu Bakar’s wife, a person of the Second Tree community.
This is the good news that we have been waiting for months, months of hard work, coordinating the good lawyers who decided to take the case, talking to witnesses in three different countries, ensuring that all local and international institutions were monitoring the case, accompanying the body back to Sierra Leone, being close to Abu Bakar, who had just seen his Fatmata die in his arms.
When, in April, Fatmata was killed by police in North Macedonia, very few people believed that there would be any hope of seeking justice. What chance can a migrant have to bring a policeman to trial? But Abu Bakar did. When he was offered, by the same police, to be taken to the border, forget Fatmata, and get to Europe, he rejected this deal with the devil: “I want Justice for Fatmata. I want the world to know what happened to my wife”.
This is just a step in a long process, and there is no guarantee of a conviction, but for today, let us celebrate together. From tomorrow, we’ll return to work to get #JusticeForFatmata and do it together.
Abu Bakar and Fatmata’s family want to thank, hug, and cry with all of the people – in North Macedonia and abroad – who helped, grieved with us, shared our pledges, or just participated with a thought. THANK YOU.”
