Case Explained: the crime is proven, justice is not – Legal Perspective

The verdict has arrived, but it leaves behind the bitter taste of injustice. The struggle now continues, moving toward the European Court.

​”Fatmata was full of life, cheerful, and generous,” says her husband, Abu, who cannot find peace. She was killed in cold blood two years ago by Igor Markov, a police officer who, on April 19, 2023, shot and killed the young woman. He has now been found guilty by the Court of Appeals. However, the sentence issued feels like a cruel paradox: one year in prison, suspended. In practical terms, unless he commits another crime within the next three years, the man who ended the life of an innocent 23-year-old woman will never step foot inside a cell. For the family, the message is devastating: a formal conviction that translates into a de facto acquittal.

​The story of Fatmata Mansaray Kamara, a young woman from Sierra Leone, is a dramatic chronicle weaving together the wounds of the migration crisis, the violence of authority, and a grueling legal battle in search of the truth. She was attempting to cross the border between Greece and North Macedonia with her husband, Abu Bakar. Near the town of Gevgelija, during a police operation, the silence was shattered by a gunshot: officer Igor Markov fired his pistol, striking and killing her. But the story does not end with that bullet; it continues in the dehumanizing treatment reserved for those left behind. As Abu Bakar cradled his dying wife in his arms, instead of receiving aid or comfort, he was handcuffed and imprisoned, deprived even of the right to a final goodbye.

​”I want truth and justice for my wife.”

​With these words, Abu Bakar rejected the police’s offer to be released in exchange for his silence. He refused to “forget everything,” initiating a legal battle that no one wanted to grant him. It is only thanks to the courage of Abu, Fatmata’s mother, Mariatu, and her sisters, that an investigation and trial were ever reached. After an initial acquittal that shocked public opinion, this new verdict establishes a fundamental truth: what happened to Fatmata was a crime. The verdict is historic but insufficient, though it remains a vital recognition. It means that no one can ever again deny what happened; no one can claim that Markov’s actions were legitimate. Fatmata’s memory is now officially tied to a proven act of injustice. Yet, the guilty man goes home. ​Despite the conviction, the bitterness remains over a penalty that appears purely symbolic. Markov has not even been barred from police service or the use of firearms—a decision the family considers an insult to Fatmata’s memory.

​Behind Abu Bakar’s resistance was not only his incredible strength of spirit but also the constant support of Second Tree. The association has been on the front lines to ensure that Abu’s voice was not stifled by institutional silence, denouncing the initial lies and supporting the family through every stage of the long and painful legal journey. It is thanks to this synergy between the family’s courage and Second Tree’s civil commitment that the initial narrative was overturned, bringing the case into the spotlight of international justice and ensuring that Fatmata’s story was not archived as a mere “unfortunate incident.”

​But Fatmata’s family has no intention of stopping here. An appeal to the Supreme Court is already planned, and if that sentence still fails to deliver full justice, they are prepared to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. This case has stirred the consciences of thousands who, in recent months, have sent messages of solidarity and refused to let silence fall over this death. As Abu Bakar reminded us, this is not just a private battle: “The fight for my wife’s memory, the fight for justice for Fatmata, is the fight for everyone forced to travel and who has no voice.”

​Until the punishment reflects the gravity of the loss of a human life, justice will remain a goal yet to be reached. The battle for Fatmata continues.