LGTB + associations denounce a homophobic crime after the death of a young homosexual burned alive in Tukums
Normunds Kindzulis, a 29-year-old health worker, died on Wednesday from burns he suffered on April 23 on 85% of his body. His death caused great controversy in Latvia. Some associations denounced that he suffered a homophobic attack and accuse the police of inaction.
Kindzulis had received homophobic death threats and had moved from Riga a Tukums, a quiet city located 70 km from the capital. But in Tukums He was also subjected to homophobic behavior and was physically attacked up to four times.
The local police have not ruled out the hypothesis of a suicide caused by the threats he received. «Bringing someone to the brink of suicide is also a crime"The number two of the Latvian criminal police told the press on Thursday," Andrey Grishins.
Commotion in Latvia
The case sparked a national debate on homophobia in Latvia, a member country of the European Union that amended his Constitution in 2006 to explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage. President, Egilis Levitis, I declare that "en Latvia there is no place for hate«.
At first, the local police declined to open an investigation, claiming that there were no "pruebas»That a crime had been committed, although, by law, it is obliged to open a criminal investigation. In addition, a separate investigation was opened to investigate the alleged inaction of the Tukums, who ignored the threats.
The victim's co-worker and roommate Artis Jaunklavins He explained that he discovered it «burning like a torch»In front of your home. «I tried to put out the flames, I picked him up and put him in the bathtub, but the burns were too bad, his clothes, burned, had embedded in his skin“Explained the man, who is still hospitalized.
