What happened: On 03.06.2022 at the PS Bit Pazar three minors (two from Arachinovo, aged 15 and 16 and one from Skopje aged 17) were detained, because they disrupted the public order in a physical assault between two groups using sharp objects. The incident took place on the square “Skenderbeg” in Skopje where a public meeting organized by a political party was held. Due to bodily injuries from a sharp object, three individuals were taken to the hospital – 15-year-old boy from Arachinovo, G.S. (20) from Tanushevci and A.N. (20) from Brest. Two knives were taken from the detained minors.
Brief description of the incident with bias indicators: In this incident the bias motive is the assumed ethnic origin since and the assumed political affiliation, considering the assault took place after a public meeting organized by a political party, with the bias indicators being:
- Political affiliation – the individuals involved have different political beliefs
- Ethnicity – the individuals involved belonged to different ethnicities
Impact on the victims and the community: These types of incidents call into question the general safety in the country and the cohabitation among the different ethnic and linguistic groups in society. Additionally, these types of incidents impact the political polarization which in turn contirbute to increasing the number of hate crimes due to different political affiliation.
