What happened: Two teenagers took the big national flag down set up at the fountain in front of
\nformer hotel \u201cCrystal\u201d in Kumanovo, and put an Albanian flag at half mast in its place. According to
\nthe sources from the Ministry of Internal Affairs which were reported by the media, these are two
\nyoung people who were immediately detained, in the meantime stronger police security was put in
\nplace, and in the attempt to remove the flag some clashes with the police occurred whereby two
\nofficers of MoI Kumanovo were injured. According to the portal \u201cKumanovski muabeti\u201d two people of Albanian nationality, from the village of Slupchane, took down the national flag and tried to put up
\nthe Albanian flag on the mast in the city center. The media outlet reported that there were at least
\nfour other people on the spot, but the rest of them fled, whereby two people were detained, and
\nseveral witnesses were taken in for questioning.<\/p>\n
Date, time and location of the incident: 31 March, 16:00, Kumanovo.
\nSource of information: Electronic media outlet Kumanovski muabeti, electronic media outlet
\nPravdiko.
\nVictim(s) involved: Apart from material damage, there were no victims in this incident.
\nType of crime(s): Bodily injury (Article 131, CC, Inciting Hatred, Discord or Intolerance on National,
\nRacial, Religious and other Discriminatory Grounds (Article 319, CC)
\nPerpetrator(s): Four people
\nBrief description of the event with bias indicators: In this incident, the bias motive is ethnicity,
\nnationality or language, while the bias indicators are:
\n1. The target object in the incident \u2013 the national flag was removed and replaced with the Albanian flag;<\/p>\n
Status of the case: Criminal charges were brought against two persons from the village of Slupcane
\nand two other unknown persons, on the basis of a reasonable suspicion that the alleged persons
\ncommitted the criminal act \u201cInciting Hatred, Discord or Intolerance on National, Racial, Religious
\nand other Discriminatory Grounds\u201d (Article 319, CC), as well as for committing the criminal act
\n\u201cAssaulting an official while performing security duties\u201d according to Article 383 paragraph 1 of the
\nCriminal Code.
\nResponse of the local authorities: The MoI\u2019s response to the MHC request for public information
\nregarding this incident states that there are indications that this incident was committed due to the
\nethnicity of the people involved, and that on 01.04.2017 SIA Kumanovo submitted criminal charges
\nagainst two people from the village of Slupchane, and two more unknown persons to the Basic Public
\nProsecution in Kumanovo for committing the crime of Inciting Hatred, Discord or Intolerance on
\nNational, Racial, Religious and other Discriminatory Grounds\u201d (Article 319, CC), and for committing
\nthe criminal act \u201cAssaulting an official while performing security duties\u201d according to Article 383
\nparagraph 1 of the Criminal Code.
\nImpact on the victim(s) and the community: This incident calls into question the ethnic co-existence
\nof the two major ethnic communities in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What happened: Two teenagers took the big national flag down set up at the fountain in front of former hotel \u201cCrystal\u201d in Kumanovo, and put an Albanian flag at half mast in its place. According to the sources from the Ministry of Internal Affairs which were reported by the media,… […]<\/p>\n