What happened: Five Syrian nationals, after passing the border illegally, were assaulted by seven
or eight unknown perpetrators in the village of Smokvica. The assailants took 1.000 EUR and three
mobile telephones from the victims.
Date, time and location of the incident: May 28th, 01:30 hrs, village Smokvica, Gevgelija.
Source of information: The electronic media Kajgana.
Victim(s) involved: Five Syrian nationals.
Type of the crime(s): Robbery (Art.237 CCRM), Violence (Art.386 CCRM).
Perpetrator(s): Unknown group of 7-8 perpetrators.
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 in ethnic background– the ethnic background of the perpetrators and the victims differ;
the victims are members of a group (Syrian migrants) that is overwhelmingly outnumbered by
members of another group (Macedonian population) in the area where the incident occurred;
2. Pattern of previous incidents – this incident is the latest of a growing trend of robberies and assaults
against migrants.
Status of the case: Criminal charges submitted.
Response of local authorities: Answering upon a Request for information of public character, the
Ministry of Interior Affairs (MOI) answered that they have submitted criminal charges against seven
suspects for the act of Robbery.
Impact on the victim(s) and the community: This incident puts into question the safety of migrants
entering and passing through the country.
