What happened: Two people were injured in a fight in the central area of Skopje. Two groups started
fighting at the bus stop near the National Bank, whereby two people got injured, one of whom was
the from the village of Brazda and the other from the village of Sopishte. One of the injured people
was 17, while the other was 19 years old. The team of 24TV was at the location where they observed
an ambulance, as well as police officers who did not allow the team to get close to the crime scene.
According to the information reported in the media, the son of one of the Mayors of a municipality
in Skopje got hurt in the fight. The media also reported that the juvenile was taken to the Clinical
Centre with injuries to the front part of the head, and that another person was later taken to the
Emergency Center, as well as that the MoI was taking measures to solve the case. According to the
Al Jazeera Balkans journalist – Milka Smilevska, the incident was committed by members of the
Albanian community in retaliation for the incident involving the physical and verbal attack on an
Albanian student at “Makedonija” Square in Skopje (http://www.zlostorstvaodomraza.com/reports/
view/377). The journalist obtained this information personally, in the Emergency Center in Skopje.
Date, time and location of the incident: 28 February, around 19.00, at the bus station near the
National Bank, Skopje.
Source of information: Electronic media outlet 24Vesti, facebook profile of the Al Jazeera Balkans reporter Milka Smilevska.
Victim(s) involved: Two persons.
Type of crime(s): Violence (Article 386, CC), Bodily Injury (Article 130, CC)
Perpetrator(s): A group of several people.
Brief description of the event with bias indicators: In this incident, the bias motive is ethnicity,
nationality or language, while the bias indicators are:
1. Assumed difference in ethnicity – due to the location of the incident which took place at a bus stop
where busses transiting through areas with mixed ethnic population stop, it is assumed that the
ethnicity of the perpetrators was different to the ethnicity of the victims.
2. Nature of the violence – it is assumed that this incident occurred in retaliation for the physical and
verbal attack on an Albanian student by several males in the center of Skopje, which occurred several
days before;
Status of the case: Criminal charges had been filed against one person for committing the crime of
“Violence” in accordance with Article 386 from the CC.
Response of the local authorities: The MoI’s response to the MHC request for public information
regarding this case stated that after taking the necessary measures and activities, SIA Skopje
submitted a lawsuit to the Basic Public Prosecutor Skopje for the criminal act of “Violence” in
accordance with Article 386 from the CC.
Impact on the victim(s) and the community: This incident calls into question ethnic co-existence in
their community.
