According to the ERRC, the court ruled on the basis of shortcomings in the investigation, but did not rule on the inhuman and degrading treatment faced by the plaintiffs (Article 3 of the Convention), nor on the actions of the public prosecutor or police officers who were discriminatory (Article 14 of the Convention).
"The court ordered the Macedonian government to pay the Roma, who are now twenty-three and nineteen years old, an amount of 7,500 euros each," the ERRC said.
The ERRC informs that the incident took place on 19 May 2014, when the Roma plaintiffs were sixteen and thirteen years old.
-Police officers, members of the Skopje unit "Alfi", were looking for two thugs, who were reported to have attacked and robbed a twenty-year-old woman nearby, who were described as dark-skinned men, aged between sixteen and eighteen. A police patrol spotted the two juveniles, immediately attacked them on the street, and then took the 16-year-old to police custody, where he was allegedly beaten for several hours. When his father came to the Centar police station, the boy was told "find the bag or I will kill you in front of your father." Under threat, the boy signed a confession for stealing a purse from a 20-year-old girl. The 13-year-old said police officers slapped him and shouted in the street, "You gypsies are lying and stealing!", The ERRC said in a statement.
Following the incident, the police inspectorate denied any alleged wrongdoing by the officers, stating that the police officers had not exceeded their authority.
