Press Release - January 12, 2022
On 1 November 2021, Georgios Zantiotis dies in Wuppertal police custody. Shortly before, he had been arrested for as yet unexplained circumstances. His sister recorded a short part of the arrest on her mobile phone. Due to the numerous reactions to the published video, the Wuppertal public prosecutor, Mr Baumert, felt compelled to inform the public about Georgios Zantiotis' death a full six days after his death in police custody. He stated that he considered the reason for the death irrelevant: "It was a natural cause of death. I did not consider it newsworthy." (Internet blog “Berg und Tal” November 7, 2021). He makes this claim despite the fact that in the first week after Georgios Zantioti's death, the cause was neither due to a diagnosed nor documented natural illness. A natural death could thus not be stated.