The 1-year prison sentence was decided by the Court of Appeal
and is converted into a suspended sentence with the obligation that the accused not to commit a new crime for 3 years after the finality of the verdict, inform from the Institute for Research and Policy Analysis - Romalitko and the civil movement "Avaja".
The incident in Bitola is a well-known case to the public since September 2020 when four people of Roma nationality were beaten by police officers in Bitola.
The case became famous because it was recorded and published on social networks. In support of an effective verdict, two large protests were organized, one in Bitola and one in Skopje. For this case, there are two verdicts that ruled for the crime of mistreatment in the performance of duty and set a prison sentence of 1 year for one police officer. The case was closely followed by the international community, including the European Commission, which demanded an effective verdict and condemned police brutality.
- This verdict should have been a precedent in determining a prison sentence for police brutality because all other previous verdicts for police brutality set the same suspended sentence. By determining conditional sentences, we create an environment in which police brutality is not monitored and punished, and thus the trust of citizens in the police and the courts decreases. This judgment was not only significant for the Roma community as a community with more cases of police brutality, but also for the whole society because violence should not be a part of daily functioning.
With the first verdict, the court considered that the imposed prison sentence will influence the accused not to commit such or similar acts in the future and that with this sentence the goals of general and social prevention will be achieved, however, the appellate court came to the conclusion that the accused has criminal responsibility , but also the possibility of being punished more lightly. According to the court, the purpose of the punishment can also be achieved with a warning with the threat of a sentence-suspended sentence, which will have a sufficiently educational effect on the accused, and thus will have a positive effect on the plan for general prevention of such crimes. The court considers that the suspended prison sentence represents an adequate social rebuke.
The case will not stop there! We will continue to seek justice by using all legal means, say Romalitiko and Avaya, which includes a large part of the Roma NGO sector.
