#JusticeForGiovani, Cape Verde Demands Answers in the 'Barbaric' Death of 21-Year-Old Student In Portugal

Cape Verdeans are demanding answers in the "barbaric killing" of 21-year-old student and musician Luis Giovani dos Santos Rodrigues in Portugal last month.

According to various Portuguese reports, Rodrigues was allegedly attacked by a group of men while leaving a party at a local bar on December 21. According to the Portuguese newspaper Contacto,witnesses saya group of about 15 men approached Rodrigues and two of his friends armed with belts, sticks and other weapons. The report goes on to say that Rodrigues was beaten and left unconscious with bruises to his head. He spent 10 days in the hospital before succumbing to his injuries on December 31.

Rodrigues had moved to the town of Bragança less than two months earlier to attend the Bragança Polytechnic Institute (IPB), where he was studying Digital Game Design, according to a statement from the municipality of Mosteiros, where he was from. He was also known as a talented musician, who played piano at his childhood church in the Cape Verdean Island of Fogo.

He was a member of the band Beatz Boys, and was described as one of the "most promising artists in Mosteiros."

Jovem estudante mosteirense de 21 anos morre em Portugal vítima de espancamentowww.youtube.com

According to Time 24 News, The Cape Verdean Embassy in Portugal has called for an autopsy and a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Rodrigues' death. Cape Verde's President Jorge Carlos Fonseca, has also stated his involvement in seeking answers around Rodrigues' "brutal death."

Janira Hopffer Almada, the president of the opposition African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde, shared a post on Facebook calling for justice in Rodrigues' case and urging citizens to take up the cause of fellow Cape Verdeans living in Portugal. "It's time to stop and analyze the real situation of students and our community in Portugal," she wrote. "We have a duty to be more present."

Star Cape Verdean musical artist Nelson Freitas weighed in as well, sharing an image of Rodrigues by the artist Gualter Monteiroon his Instagram with the caption "We want justice!"

"We deeply regret the barbarous assault that resulted in the death of a Cape Verdean student in Bragança," said the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, "Those responsible will be identified and brought to justice."

Many online believe that racial discrimination in Portugal played a role in Rodrigues death, and some have stated that the incident should be investigated as a possible hate crime.