Thousands Gather Outside Bratislava Bar Following Attack Last Week
October 20, 2022Thousands gathered at a vigil in Bratislava, Slovakia to commemorate the two people killed outside a gay bar. The men were shot in a suspected hate crime.
Inakos (Otherness) Institute, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group who organized the vigil, estimate 20,000 people took part, both to mourn and demand further action on LGBTQ+ rights.
President Zuzana Caputova, who, according to the BBC, has raised the rainbow flag over her office, spoke at the event. “I'm sorry that our society was not able to protect your loved ones,” she said. “You belong here, you are valuable for our society.” The prime minister, Eduard Heger, was also present.
The murders have sparked calls for more protection of LGBTQ+ people in Slovakia, a relatively conservative EU country where same-sex marriage is not legal.
While the prime minister held a rainbow flag at the rally, in June an MP from his party called for a ban of the flag on public buildings. The call was unsuccessful.
European Parliament Vice-President Michal Simecka, who was also at Friday's event, said he wanted the European legislature to discuss the murders at a session next week. “To express our sympathy, but also to call on the Slovak authorities to take clear steps to put an end to the language of hatred towards LGBTI people,” he said.
The two men were killed outside Bratislava's Teplaren bar close to the city center on Wednesday evening. Another woman was injured, and is now in a stable condition in hospital. After a brief manhunt, police found the body of the 19-year-old gunman, who is believed to have shot himself, on Thursday morning. He was identified as Juraj Krajcik, the son of a former far-right politician.
Just before the killings, he had posted an anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-Semitic manifesto on Twitter, warning that he would carry them out. He later also claimed responsibility.
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