Roma man in Patra set alight ‘for fun’ in NYE incident

An investigation has been launched in the southwestern port town of Patra after a 35-year-old Roma man was asked at a local car dealership to kneel down to sing Christmas carols on New Year's Eve and was set on fire "for fun."

The victim, who, according to local media, is mentally disabled, asked to sing the carols but one of the staff allegedly poured flammable liquid onto his clothes and ignited it. 

The incident was recorded on a mobile phone and uploaded by one of the perpetrators on social media.

The victim allegedly maintains that he was not harmed by the fire and did not wish to press charges. He said the perpetrators were just "having fun."

"There are no words to describe the anger and horror we feel, as no one can deny any longer the deep roots of anti-Gypsyism that fuel acts like this," Ellan Passe, the Panhellenic Confederation of Greek Roma,...