The initiative AVAJA announced on their Facebook profile that a police officer has been found guilty and is sentenced to one year in prison for the committed crime “Harassment while performing work”. On September 24, 2020, a video was posted on the social networks showing several police officers brutally beating Roma people from Bitola.

“Nevzat Jasharoski received justice! AVAJA acted actively over the whole year by publically speaking, with public announcements, protests and by fully following the case! We express gratitude to the Macedonia Association of Youth Lawyers and to lawyers Tatjana Doneska and Dime Gjorcevski as well as to the AVAJA team leader from Bitola, Remzi Medic”, is said from AVAJA.

Immediately after the video of the police brutality was posted, CIVIL also responded with a reaction and condemnation, stressing that the police have to be an example of lawful behavior.

“In this case, the state should determine the strictest sanction according to the law. The uniform must not be protection of perpetrators, but protection of violence. Impunity has to stop’, stated Xhabir Deralla from CIVIL.

Dehran Muratov from CIVIL, in the column Roma Lives Matter! among else wrote:

“In addition to political quarrels and an attempt to slander the work of the current government, through this case, nationalism has also surfaced. There is much hate speech against the Roma in comments on the social networks, and part of the Roma community as a reaction to those comments respond with just as much hate speech.

Roma political representatives, like as in the past, today too are nowhere to be found to condemn the violence and to demand responsibility. Ok, we will wait, maybe they will say something until the next elections…

It is the police’s duty to prevent violence, and not to produce and be part of violence. The case with the police brutality in Bitola has to be resolved and there have to be sanctions for the perpetrators, so that the same crime is not repeated.

Stop police brutality!

D.M

Translation: N.C