What happened: 27 tombstones in the Orthodox cemetery in the village of Ljuboten were damaged
by unknown perpetrators. According to information transferred to the media, the MoI intensively
implements all their operative-technical and field activities that enable the collection and analysis
of the evidence in order to identify the perpetrators of this act and to initiate the corresponding
criminal proceedings against them.
Date, time and location of the incident: 10 July, around 19:30, orthodox cemetery in the village of
Ljuboten.
Source of information: The daily bulletin of the Ministry of Interior, electronic media oulet Pozitiv.mk
Victim(s) involved: Apart from material damage, there were no victims in this incident.
Type of crime(s): “Damaging Objects of Others” Article 243, CC), Inciting Hatred, Discord or Intolerance
on National, Racial, Religious and other Discriminatory Grounds (Article 319, CC)
Perpetrator(s): Unknown
Brief decription of the incident with bias indicators: This is an incident inciting hatred, discord or
intolerance, the bias motive is religious affilation, and the bias indicators are:
1. The target location – the target location was the orthodox cemetery in the village of Ljuboten;
Status of the case: Under investigation
Response of the local authorities: The MOI’s response to the MHC request for public information
regarding this incident stated that the crime in question was “Desecration of a Tomb” in accordance
with Article 400 of the Criminal Code. In addition, the answer states that after completing the
documentation on the event, an appropriate submission will be submitted to the competent Basic
Public Prosecution by SIA Skopje.
Impact on the victim(s) and the community: This incident calls into question the safety of the
different religious communities in the country.
