What happened: The media reported of an incident which occurred on a public transport bus, line no. 65, when a
boy punched a girl in the nose and ran away in an unknown direction. According to the information, the girls was a
high school student, and the boy from Aracinovo. The boy ran away immediately, while the high school students who
witnessed the assault terrified called their parents, after which a crowd gathered at the bus stop. The police soon
arrived and attempted to compose the people gathered.
Date, time and place of incident: 31 January, 6:40 p.m., bus line no. 65, village of Singelik, Alija Avdovic
Street, Skopje.
Source of information: Electronic media, lider.mk.
Victim(s) involved: One minor (female).
Type of crime(s): Violence (Article 386, CC of RNM), Bodily injury (Article 130, CC of RNM).
Perpetrator(s): One perpetrator.
Brief description of the event with bias indicators: In this incident the bias motive is ethnicity, with the bias
indicators being:
1. Different ethnicity – the victim is a minor and belonged to a different ethnic community from
the one of the attacker;
2. Pattern of previous incidents – assaults against minors alone on streets, near schools, on buses;
3. Location- bus line no. 65 is a common location for this type of assaults.
Status of the case: Unknown.
Response of the local authorities: Despite the police response at the scene, the incident was never reported
in MOI’s daily newsletter.
Impact on the victims and the community: These types of incidents call into question the general safety
in the country, the co-existence among different ethnic groups in society, and particularly the safety
of children and young people in environments expected to be safe and secure for them (schools, public
transport, settlements where they live and move around).
