The ERRC as an organization that oversees the human rights of Roma in Europe, and advocates the Roma in their defense when their rights are violated, sent a letter to RS Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski regarding the incident that occurred in the municipality of Shuto Orizari, where the majority of the Roma population lives.
The letter states that the ERRC carefully monitors the information regarding the events and information from the MoI newsletter published on 28 January 2019, when a group of citizens, upon previous announcements, testified about possible kidnapping of children, gathered on the main street in the settlement after searching for a vehicle with darkened glass and without license plates.
The ERRC said that before the incident the same night, due to concerns of its citizens, the Mayor of Shuto Orizari Dudush Curto called all concerned citizens in the evening to attend an extraordinary meeting of the municipality where the commander of the police station Chair will attend, from which were asked for answers and consultations about the previous days since the news spread and eyewitnesses claiming to have saved children from possible hijackers, events that caused worried citizens from this municipality not to release them at school.
Just two hours before the meeting of citizens in the municipality, a group of citizens, as the letter states, blocked the path of one such vehicle, Jeep Hundai Galloper, which contained three suspicious persons for whom they originated verbally and then physically which resulted in bodily injuries over the three suspects, one of whom suffered serious bodily injuries, who were hospitalized after the incident in the city hospital on September 8th.
The Ministry of Interior submitted 7 criminal charges for this incident, for seven persons involved in the fight, from which two people were given 30 days detention.
In the further part of the letter, the ERRC refers to the statements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as well as to the pressures held by the Minister of Interior of the Ministry of Interior Spasovski, and requests the Ministry of Interior and the investigating bodies to provide information that is vital for the investigation, the involvement of the persons concerned in this case . She believes that a further investigation of the incident will not be subject to unjustified sentences, for which there are many examples of such type of legal measures.
ERRC requested answers from state institutions:
- What institutional measures will be taken in order to protect and secure the population,
-What measures will be undertaken to respect the right to education of children, to make sure that the parents of the children ensure the safety of their children.
List not with detailed facts about the state of affairs that is the vehicle owner Hundai Galloper? Is the vehicle owner a police officer? Has the vehicle owner been present during the incident? What are your information about the vehicle being driven without license plates and tinted windows? Have suspicious items been found in the vehicle? Did not the vehicle really have rear seats? And what is the truth about the phantoms, diggers and shovels found in the vehicle's carpet? What was the role of the third passenger who was not a policeman?
- What are the steps to take the institution to reveal details about this incident and what led to it?
- How many Roma people are summoned to the court, how many allegations have been raised? Are they being offered an interpreter and lawyer in the process? What future step is planned?
- How often do police officers who are not on duty, go on a mission after announcing the FACEBOK?
-Is such an arbitrariness of certain police officers a future strategy of the police, especially when they are out of office, or will they be subjected to disciplinary measures?
What steps will be taken on such incidents in the future that would prevent the situation from escalating into ethnic hatred, having in mind that the injured were of Albanian ethnic origin?
Are there plans to open a police station in a municipality that has more than 30 000 inhabitants?
In the closing part of the letter, the ERRC points out that, in the context of the widespread Anti-Romance in Europe, as well as countless disadvantaged Roma who are deprived of their rights, the ERRC warns the investigating authorities and the police and calls on them to comply with the provisions of the European Court of Human Rights on its members 6) and (14) as well as a member of the European Court of Human Rights (3) and (8).
The ERRC states that it will monitor the entire case and all proceedings related to this case in order to ensure the respect of (2,3,5,6) and (8) or (14) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. The organization will also be provided with advice on an adequate solution to this emergency.
It is stated at the end of the letter addressed to the Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Macedonia.
