What happened: One child suffered serious injuries and three others suffered light injuries after a
vicious fight near the shopping mall Vero in Skopje. Two groups participated In the fight, one from the
village of Katlanovo (inhabited predominantly by Macedonians), and other from the village Batinci
(predominantly Islamic population, most of which are Albanians).
Date, time and location of the incident: February 12th near the shopping mall Vero in Skopje.
Source of information: The national media Vest.
Victim(s) involved: One minor with Macedonian ethnicity and three young men from Batinci.
Type of the crime(s): Severe Bodily Harm, (Art.131 CCRM), Participation in a Fight (Art.132), Incitement
of hate, discord and intolerance on national, racial religious or other discriminatory ground (Art.319).
Perpetrator(s): Nine young men, five of which from Batici, and four of which (one minor included)
from Katlanovo.
Brief description of incident with bias indicators: In this incident, the bias motive is the ethnic origin,
citizenship or language, and the bias indicators are:
1. Difference between perpetrator and victim on ethnicity – Considering the predominant ethnic structure of
the villages they come from.
2. Nature of violence – The incident was carried out in public.
3. Lack of other motives.
Status of the case: Criminal charges pressed.
Response of local authorities: The police stated via the media that they will undertake the
appropriate measures. The Ministry of Interior stated via Answer upon a Request for information of
public character sent by the Committee that they have submitted a criminal charge related to the
incident. However, there has been no answer as to the specific crime, or the fact that indicates to
the possible motive of the crime.
