A 20-year-old tourist, who had been beaten into a coma by nightclub bouncers on Mykonos, was disconnected from life support by doctors and has died.
Doujon Zammit from Australia suffered serious head injuries from being struck with a metal bat, after he and his friends allegedly stole a handbag from the Tropicana nightclub (now closed) near the island’s infamous Super Paradise. The 25-year-old bouncer admits to hitting Zammit, but only with his fists, although a metal bat was found in his possession and was proved to be the weapon that bashed the young tourist to death.
It was decided to turn off life support when a series of tests revealed there was no hope of recovery. Zammit’s family has graciously donated Doujon’s organs, and his father Oliver maintains that Greece is, “a beautiful country with wonderful people,” and the tragedy was “bad luck.”
Doujon’s heart will go to an Australian-Greek national in Athens, and the rest of his organs will be used “to save Greek people,” said Maria Kairi, general director of the Henry Dunant hospital.
Questions raised
– Was a handbag ever found in their possession? And if it was, is that a license to beat someone dead?
– Did Zammit’s Italian-Maltese descent play a factor in being singled out?
– Why did Athens police only learn about this incident from the Australian Embassy 10 hours after it happened and not from local Mykonos police?
– Why did the Greek media list the nationalities of everyone involved, except those guilty of the beating? They finally listed their nationalities as ‘Greek’ here, after 2 weeks of listing everyone else’s but not the guilty. For the record, the proper journalistic standard is to not list anyone’s nationality.
– Is anyone else left speechless by the Zammit family’s world class humanity, understanding and generosity?
If you have Facebook, you can get to know more about this young man and leave a message in his memory.
News stories about the incident
“Athens Red Cross names wing after Doujon” – ABC
“Officer linked to Zammit beating death” — Kathimerini
“Mourners applaud Doujon at funeral” (removed) – news.au.com
“Zammit’s father pleas with Greek ministry for better health care” – ABC News
“Doujon’s heart will stay close to home” – The Times
“Park memorial for Greece assault victim” – The Age
“Young Australian bashed to death in Greece” (newspaper closed) – Birmingham Star
“Australian tourist dies in Greece” – The Age
“Grieving family turns off Doujon Zammit’s life support” (removed) – news.com.au
“Australian man’s life hangs in the balance” – Kathimerini
“Law of the land vs. law of the night” – Kathimerini
“Shock at island beating” – Kathimerini
“British tourist Matthew Cryer dead under suspicious circumstances in Zakynthos, and his body sent home with no heart” — Telegraph
News stories about the trial/conviction
“Zammit family unhappy with verdicts” (article removed) — ABC
“Bouncer jailed, but others free on bail in Zammit case” — The Age
“Greek bouncer sentenced 22.5 years for killing Australian tourist in Mykonos” — Sydney Morning Herald
“Greek bouncer found guilty in Zammit trial” — Sydney Morning Herald
“Detailed account of how Australian tourist Doujon Zammit died in Mykonos, Greece” — Australian news.com.au
“Harrowing start to Aussie tourist death trial in Greece” — Australian news.com.au
“Zammit family & recipient of Doujon’s heart in Lesbos for murder trial” — Australian news.com.au
“Australian witnesses vital to (Zammit) murder case in Greece” — Sydney Morning Herald
“Doujon Zammit – tourist killed by Mykonos bouncer – honored at Greek wedding in Australia” — Australian news.com.au
Kat Reply:
August 22nd, 2008 at 19:21
Why would I ban you? I appreciate your readership and enjoy input from intelligent people who contribute to discussions. You are free to express your opinion as long as it’s not mean spirited or racist toward me or my readers.
I was reading directly from the Associated Press Stylebook, which many professional journalists around the world regard as the standard. The Code of Ethics say that nationality and race should not be listed except in rare relevant cases, i.e., A hate crime. Listing age is fine, listing gender is fine. Because Doujon was a tourist, his nationality is unavoidable but his ethnic origin is irrelevant. You’ll often notice that Greek media lists race when it is completely irrelevant (i.e., when non-Greeks are suspects and commit crimes, but never in the case of Greeks; a crime is a crime) and thereby biases the public. That’s wrong. See, “Greek media, now with less racism.” If you do not agree with me, then you are also disagreeing with the oath that legitimate journalists vow to uphold. That is your right. But I believe we agree.