What happened: Unknown perpetrators vandalized the branch office of the party, braking the front window.
Date, time and location of the incident: January 18, at 3:00am in Strumica.
Source of information: The regional media Fama.
Victim(s) involved: Except the material damage, there were no direct victims in this incident.
Type of the crime(s): Damaging of other’s property Art. 243 CCRM.
Perpetrator(s): Two persons. One was known to the owner of the object and his identity was reported
to the authorities.
Brief description of incident with bias indicators: In this incident, the bias motive is the religious
affiliation and religious persuasion, and the bias indicators are:
1. Target / witness perception – Target is the branch office of the largest opposition party, witness
perceived the incident as act of intimidation.
2. Frequency of incident – The fact that this incident was preceded by a similar one several weeks prior.
Status of the case: Under investigation.
Response of local authorities: The police reacted immediately and investigated the scene. According
to the owner of the store, the Police didn’t secure the object that was damaged, despite his appeals
to the Police to do so. The investigation is ongoing.
Impact on the victim(s) and the community: This type of incidents brings into question the general
political stability in the country, especially given the fact that Strumica is the city in which the largest
opposition party in the country has a majority in the local council.
