Macedonian Court Imprisons Seven For Attempted Murder Of Legislator

A Macedonian court on July 5 imprisoned seven men for the attempted murder of a legislator during an attack on parliament last year.

The seven were found guilty of trying to kill ethnic Albanian Ziadin Sela, leader of the small Alliance of Albanians party. He was hospitalized with severe injuries following the attack.

On April 27, 2017, some 100 nationalists, many of them masked, stormed the assembly in Skopje to protest against the choice of a new parliamentary speaker, an ethnic Albanian who had served as a defense minister in a previous conservative government.

Several other people, including legislators, journalists, and police officers, were also injured in the bloody rioting.

"The accused men tried to kill MP Ziadin Sela. The evidence against them was clear from the video material," said judge Slavica Andrevska.

"My life is ruined. I am done," said Nikola Vojmoinovski, who received a 13-year jail term along with two other defendants.

Four of the men received 10-year sentences. Some of the convicts wept when the verdicts were announced.

All the defendants had pleaded not guilty and defense attorneys said they would lodge an appeal.

In March, Macedonia's state prosecutor charged another 30 people over the April 2017 attack. Their trial is expected to start on August 22.

The 30 accused include five legislators from the opposition conservative VMRP-DPMNE party and senior Interior Ministry officials, who have been charged with "terrorist endangerment of the constitutional order and security."

If found guilty, they could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.

A man who pleaded guilty to having attacked another legislator in the violence was sentenced in March to four years in prison.

The attack on parliament, which was strongly condemned by the European Union and the international community, followed a long-running political crisis in the Balkan country.

A month after the violence, Social Democrat Zoran Zaev -- who was beaten up in the riots -- became prime minister.

Quintuple murder suspect says “plan was to attack police”

According to court sources, the suspect said this in front of several people but it is unknown whether he repeated it to investigative judges.

Makfax news agency has reported that all court appointed defense lawyers, including some of the most prominent Macedonian attorneys, refused to represent the suspects for the murder of five young Macedonians and a 45-year-old man on April 11 near Skopje.

The news agency has learnt that the arrested persons who decided to give their statements to the investigative judges said that they were only a part of the criminal group because they were poor and needed the money.

Skopje-based daily Utrinski vesnik writes that the investigation now focuses on how long the group was preparing the murders, whether it planned new attacks and who helped the perpetrators financially and logistically.

20 radical Islamists were arrested in the Operation Monster on May 1. Five of them have been charged with terrorism.

Protestors in Skopje hurl stones at police, smash bus stop

The protesting Muslims in Macedonia’s capital Skopje have started hurling stones at the police, the local news agency Makfax reported.

The protest kicked off outside Jaja Pasha Mosque in Skopje and the incident occurred outside the government’s building.

The demonstrators also managed to smash the windows of a bus stop. Insulting words were voiced against Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and ruling Albanian party Democratic Union for Integration of Ali Ahmeti.

The group is now moving towards Gotse Delchev bridge in Skopje.

Macedonian court orders 30-day detention for 5 suspects in fishermen killings

A court in Macedonia’s capital has issued 30-day detention orders for five men, including two who are still at large, suspected of killing five fishermen in April.

The fatal shooting of the fishermen near Skopje last month fueled tension in the Balkan country between ethnic Macedonians and the ethnic Albanian minority.

The Interior Ministry has issued an international arrest warrant for the two suspects still at large, identified as 32-year-old Afrim Ismailovic and 27-year-old Alil Demiri, both from Skopje.

The other three were among 20 people identified as radical Islamists arrested Tuesday in connection with the killings. All five have been charged with terrorism. Another four among the 20 were also remanded in custody for 30 days on weapons charges, while the rest were released.

Macedonia Reveals Suspects in Lakeside Murder Case

Macedonian media have revealed the identity of the suspects for the brutal murder of five men that took place last month near Skopje.

27-year-old Alil Demir, 32-year-old Afrim Ismailovic and his brother, 33-year-old Agim Ismailovic are the alleged shooters, according to the Macedonian Utrinski vestnik daily.

54-year-old Fejzi Aziri and 24-year-old Rami Sejdu have allegedly transported the shooters to the crime scene and subsequently helped them to escape the country by entering Kosovo.

All five suspects face terrorism charges.

It is believed that the suspects are members of a criminal group that has committed various crimes, including terrorism, illegal manufacture, possession and trade of weapons and explosive materials, the Macedonian Information Agency has said.

On Tuesday, a total of twenty alleged radical Islamic militants were arrested over the murder of five  men in Macedonia on April 12, the worst case of mass murder in the tiny Balkan country since it gained independence 21 years ago.

The victims, all ethnic Macedonians, were found shot dead on April 12 near an artificial lake at Butel. Four were in their 20s, and the fifth was in his 40s. Media identified the dead as Filip Slavkovski, Aleksandar Nakjevski, Tsvetanco Atsevski, Kire Trickovski and Borce Stefanovski.

Extremists among those detained in Macedonia massacre

Macedonian police on Tuesday arrested 20, allegedly radicalised, Muslims in an operation in several villages around the capital. The police believe that the murderers are among those arrested.

After spending the night in a police station in Skopje, they were brought before court this morning.

Police said the motives of the men, some of whom were Macedonian nationals, was to spread fear in the country.

“The arrested men are radical Islamists who have been fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan against NATO and they will be charged with terrorism,” Police Minister, Gordana Jankulovska said.

The police say that as part of the operation named “Monster” it searched 26 sites in Aracinovo, Suto Orizari, Cair and Cento, all areas in and around Skopje. Over 800 police officers participated in the arrests.

The Interior Ministry said they found an automatic gun, four pistols, a bomb, bullets and ammunition for grenade launchers as well as camouflage uniforms and tactical vests. Literature associated with radical Islam was also found.

The bodies of Filip Slavkovski, Aleksandar Nakjevski, Cvetanco Acevski and Kire Trickovski, all aged between 18 and 20, were discovered on April 12 near Zelezarsko Ezero on the northern outskirts of the capital, a popular fishing destination. All had gunshot wounds.

The body of 45-year-old Borce Stevkovski was a short distance away from the rest.

Eyewitnesses said they were found by a local fisherman and the victims were believed to be fishermen too.

The bodies had been lined up and appeared to have been executed with firearms. Two cars were found in the vicinity with open doors.

The news of the killings raised tensions in the ethnically divided country between Macedonians and country’s largest Albanian minority.

Tensions peaked four days after the murder when the police prevented a mob of Macedonian youngsters from moving across the Vardar River towards an area of the capital mainly populated by ethnic Albanians.

Former police intelligence chief Kire Naumov said if the police claims about cells of Islamist terrorists proved true, the country faced a serious challenge.

“If all this prove true, then this looks like the organized terrorist cell of a radical Islamist organization… then Macedonia has a serious problem”, he told Deutsche Welle.

Meanwhile, Rade Slavkovski the father of one of the victims, 19-year-old Filip Slavkovski told media that he would feel satisfied if the police had indeed arrested his son’s killers.

“Nothing will return Filip but it is good if the justice is done” he said on Tuesday.

The first political party to react on Wednesday was the junior ruling party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI.

“Albanians cannot accept collective responsibility for the killing of children, a crime that has never happened in their history, not even during times of war,” said Bujar Osmani, the DUI spokesperson.

He said that no matter the nationality of the perpetrators, “They remain murderers and nothing else”.

Macedonian police file charges in fishermen deaths

Macedonian authorities have filed terrorism charges against five men in connection with the shooting deaths of five Macedonian fishermen in mid-April, Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska said.

Two of those charged were still at large, while the other three were among 20 people identified as radical Islamists who were arrested in connection with the case Tuesday.

The killings of the fishermen near the Macedonian capital Skopje last month fueled tension in the Balkan country between majority Macedonians and the mostly Muslim ethnic Albanian minority.

State Prosecutor Ljupco Svrgovski told media Wednesday that if found guilty of terrorism, the suspects faced life imprisonment sentences.

The remaining 17 of those arrested during an early-morning raid on Tuesday were being interviewed by an investigative judge. They are being investigated on suspicion of terrorism, helping commit the murders and illegal possession and trade of weapons.

Jankuloska did not specify whether the suspects all belonged to the same ethnic group. She previously said most of them were Macedonian citizens.

About 800 police were involved in Tuesday's operation, called "Monster," raiding 26 houses around Skopje and seizing weapons, bulletproof vests and Islamic literature, police said.

Jankuloska said the 20 suspects arrested Tuesday were followers "of radical Islam, which is a danger not only for Christianity, but also for Muslims and others."

The ethnic Albanian coalition partner in the conservative government, the Democratic Union for Integration, or DUI, described the killing of the fishermen as "the biggest crime in the history of Macedonia."

DUI spokesman Bujar Osmani said his party "remains on the position that the killers are simply killers by name and surname, regardless of their ethnicity and nationality".

Tensions between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians have simmered since the end of an armed rebellion in 2001, when ethnic Albanian rebels fought Macedonian government forces for about eight months, seeking greater rights for their community. The conflict left 80 people dead and ended with the intervention of NATO troops.

Ethnic Albanians make up about a quarter of Macedonia's population of 2.1 million. Most Macedonians are Christian Orthodox.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/02/macedonian-police-file-charges-in-fishermen-deaths/#ixzz1tlbh2Ajg

Videos from Macedonian Police Regarding Operation "Monstrum"

Radical Muslim group involved in Macedonia murders arrested

Macedonian police announced Tuesday that they arrested 20 radical Muslims, suspected to be members of a terrorist group which has been linked to the murder of five Macedonians in early April.

“The ministry of the interior found the perpetrators of the horrific killings at Smilkovsko lake” near Skopje, Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska told a press conference.

Twenty radical Muslims, mostly Macedonian citizens, some of whom had been “fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan against NATO soldiers”, were arrested. They were nabbed on Monday after a massive security operation involving some 800 police officers and other interior ministry officials.


The minister described the suspects as “Skopje followers of radical Islam” but did not reveal their names or ethnicity.

“Among those 20 people a few are directly involved in the horrific killings and for some we do not have details,” Jankulovska said.

On April 12 five men, one 45 years old and the others aged between 18 and 22, were found dead from gunshot wounds at a popular fishing pond near Skopje.

“The interior ministry will file terrorism charges against them,” she added, explaining that their motive was “to incite fear and insecurity”.

The authorities said they seized weapons and radical Islamic literature.

The murders sparked fears that tensions between Macedonians and minority ethnic Albanians could flare up again.

The atmosphere has for some time been tense in the former Yugoslav republic, where relations between the two main communities remain scarred from a 2001 armed conflict between government security forces and ethnic Albanian rebels.

A peace deal was signed in August 2001, when Albanians, who make up some 25 percent of Macedonia’s population of two million, were given improved rights.

In March, more than a dozen people were injured in inter-ethnic clashes in Skopje and the Albanian-dominated northwestern town of Tetovo, highlighting the worsening of relations between the communities.

Islamists arrested in Macedonia fishermen deaths

Police arrested 20 radical Islamists for the murder of five ethnic Macedonian fishermen in an early morning raid Tuesday, authorities said. The killing last month fueled tension in the tiny Balkan country between majority Macedonians and the mostly Muslim Albanian minority.

The suspects have been charged with terrorism, Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska said. She did not specify whether they all belonged to the same ethnic group, saying simply that they were all Macedonian citizens.

The victims were not directly connected with the suspects, Jankuloska told reporters.

"The intention of this crime was to create a sense of insecurity and fear among the general population," she said.

Tensions between ethnic Macedonians and Albanians have simmered since the end of an armed rebellion in 2001, when ethnic Albanian rebels fought Macedonian government forces for about eight months, seeking greater rights for their community. The conflict left 80 people dead, and ended with the intervention of NATO troops.

Ethnic Albanians make up a quarter of Macedonia's population of 2.1 million. Most Macedonians are Christian Orthodox.

About 800 police were involved in Tuesday's operation, called "Monster," raiding 26 houses around the Macedonian capital of Skopje and seizing weapons, bullet proof vests and Islamic literature, Jankuloska said.

All of the suspects had fought in Afghanistan and Pakistan, she said.

The suspects were followers "of radical Islam, which is generally a danger for Christianity," she said. "They all have the capacity to commit such a horrible act."

She did not offer more details, saying the investigation is not yet complete.

Police posted a video of armed policemen raiding a house, arresting at least two suspects, one of them sprawled on the floor, and displaying a number of cellphones and SIM cards.

The title of the video describes the arrested as "Wahhabis," a fundamentalist branch of Islam.

The five fishermen, all but one in their 20s, were found dead, shot with at least three different firearms, north of Skopje on April 13.

Rumors spread quickly that the killings were ethnic-related, forcing authorities to appeal for calm.

Police bust Bulgarian-Macedonian ATM manipulation

Police busted 8-member Bulgarian-Macedonian criminal group, which used to manipulate and drain ATMs in Macedonia, Macedonian Utrinski Vesnik daily informs.
Only for a week, the group managed to steal more than MKD 1 million (MKD 61 = EUR 1) with the use of forged bankcards.
The group consists of 5 Macedonian and 3 Bulgarian nationals and used to operate mainly in Skopje, Ohrid, Stip, Radovis and Veles.
The criminals were arrested on Saturday.
The Prosecution Office in Stip has brought charges against the defendants.

Police bust antiquities smuggling ring

Macedonian authorities said Friday they had broken up an antiquities smuggling ring and recovered thousands of exceptionally valuable artifacts in the country's largest-ever crackdown on the illicit trade.


Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska said police had charged 29 people, including two police officers and a former mayor, with belonging to an organized ring attempting to sell ill-gotten antiquities abroad.


A police sweep of eight towns early Thursday netted about 4,000 artifacts, some at least 2,000 years old, Jankulovska said.


Culture minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska wouldn't speculate on the artifacts' value, but said they were "of exceptional cultural, historical and archaeological value for this country."


Police had initially detained 48 people, including local politicians and archaeologists, but Jankulovska said criminal charges were filed against only 29. The suspects, aged 26 to 84, will appear before an investigative judge in Skopje's district court later Friday.


Police raided more than 60 homes and confiscated items including about 3,000 coins mainly from Roman times, 20 stone, bronze, copper and marble figurines of various sizes and 160 pieces of bronze jewelry such as bracelets, rings, pendants.


Police also seized old guns and sabers, metal detectors, night-vision goggles, archaeological maps and weapons allegedly used by members of the group.


Police said the suspects planned to sell the illegally excavated artifacts in Greece, Italy and Austria. Police had kept the suspects under surveillance since October.


Antiquities theft is a major problem for Macedonia, which has some 6,000 archaeological sites.

Macedonia Charges Captain, Inspector over Ohrid Lake Tragedy

Macedonian prosecutors have charged suspects over the sinking of the Ilinden boat in the Ohrid Lake, which killed 15 Bulgarian tourists in September 2009.


The Prosecutor’s Office in the town of Ohrid has charged the captain of the antiquated tourist boat, Sotir Filevski, and Branko Baic, representative of the Croation company Lloyd, who inspected the vessel and issued a technical permit for its operation.


In addition to the expected charges against the boat captain Filevski, the Ohrid prosecutors have decided to charge the respective safety inspector after reviewing volumes with documentation and carrying out several technical experiments.


Filevski and Baic have been charged with “severe crimes against safety of persons and transport equipment.”


Baic, who is a Croatian citizen, is going to be notified about the charges against him through the justice ministries of Macedonia and Croatia.


A total of 15 Bulgarian tourists drowned and 40 more were injured as the Ilinden boat sunk in the Ohrid Lake in September 2009. The Bulgarians, mostly retirees, were on an excursion in Macedonia whose organizers were later revealed to have violated a number of legal procedures in Bulgaria.


The news about the charges of those suspected responsible for the Ohrid Lake tragedy comes hours after the Bulgarian Diaspora Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov announced the three local Ohrid men who rescued a number of Bulgarian tourists from drowning were granted Bulgarian citizenship.

Italian police detains Macedonians, who wanted to rob Jose Mourinho

Italy’s PFC Inter manager, Jose Maurihno, and four players of the club used to be target of a criminal group from Macedonia, Macedonian Spic newspaper writes.
The news broke from a Portuguese radio station, which happened to come across the information that criminal structures have been collecting important information about Mourinho.
After the Portuguese football expert learned the news, he required stepped up security for himself and his family. Police reacted immediately and seized the criminals.
According to unofficial information, the criminal group planned to kidnap Mourinho and ask for a ransom, the newspaper informs.

Explosion rips through Old Bazaar

Three stores and one apartment were damaged in late Sunday's bomb blast near Skopje's Old Bazaar, but no injuries have been reported.

Skopje Police Department said the explosive device went off around 22:30 hrs, smashing the windows of three stores situated in a building at Vojdan Cernodrinski Street. The building is owned by a 50-year Jonus B. The blast left the apartment entrance door damaged.

The police are sill searching for perpetrators

‘Suitcase Trade’ on Bulgarian Border with Macedonia Increases

The cases of suitcase trade at the Gueshevo checkpoint on the Bulgarian border with Macedonia, has increased, the chief of the customs at the checkpoint, Georgi Vladimirov, told Focus on Friday.

According to him it comes down to small traders who cross several times a day the limit for imported food. The reason is that prices of many goods in Macedonia are still lower.

‘The phenomenon cannot be stopped, as it exists everywhere. It is a time of crisis and everyone seeks a cheaper deal – Bulgarians shop in Macedonia, Greeks shop in Bulgaria, Englishmen shop in France, Italians in Switzerland…’

As long as the imported goods are not in big quantities they cannot be handled by the customs officers. Even so, since the beginning of the year some 180 kilos of chicken legs have been confiscated.

Macedonian border remains one of the most risky for smuggling cigarettes

Macedonian border remains one of the most risky borders for smuggling of cigarettes, chief of the customs border control at Gueshevo border checkpoint Georgi Vladimirov said in interview with FOCUS News Agency.
Our border with Macedonia remains risky for smuggling of cigarettes, because it is close to countries such as Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro, which are the hatchery of the Balkan smuggling, he explained.
"It is normal some numbers of cigarettes to enter Macedonia and from there to Bulgaria. We have seized many shipments last year. We are trying to assume the 99 percent control of the trucks. However, that hinders us Macedonians too much, because the trucks are starting to run without seals and this makes us to believe that each driver may go on the market in Skopje to buy one or two boxes or to hide in the cabin or in the truck”. Georgi” Vladimirov added.

Two arrested in ProCredit bank robbery

Macedonian police have arrested two persons in connection to the robbery of ProCredit Bank-Skopje, which took place on 10 April.

The police believe that one of the detained bought the two vehicles used in the robbery, while the "biological traces" of other one, a man with double citizenship - Kosovo and Croatia's - matched those found on the vehicle. In addition, an operation for tracking down of the third person believed to have been involved, is underway.

The arrested B.T. (29) from Skopje bought the vehicles Golf 3 and Alpha Romeo 155 used in the robbery, from the used car lot "Guri" in the beginning of 2009.

In his testimony before the police, he said that his cousin A.T. (31) from Skopje, who is still on the run, ordered him to buy the vehicles. B.T. also said that his cousin kept constant contact with a man from Kosovo.

The armed group managed to steal 50,000 euros from the bank located in downtown Skopje in a daring operation. In the shootout with the police, two officers and a bypasser were wounded.

Another robbing of Komercijalna Banka

Two masked bandits robbed a branch office of Komercijalna Banka located in the Skopje's District of Jane Sandanski on Friday morning.

This is the second armed robbery of a branch office of the same bank in two days, after yesterday's holdup in the branch office in the District of Gjorce Petrov.

According to unofficial information, today's incident took place at about 10:00 hrs, when several clients were present in the bank's premises.

Police teams have already conducted an inspection at the site. The amount of stolen money and other details are expected to be revealed soon.

Komercijalna Banka robbed for a second time in two days

Two masked bandits robbed Friday morning a Komercijalna Banka branch at Jane Sandanski boulevard in Skopje's Aerodrom settlement.
Thus far, there are no immediate information on the amount of money that were taken away. At the moment, police teams are investigating the site.

Moreover, a branch of Komercijalna Banka was also robbed yesterday in Skopje-based Gjorce Petrov settlement. Three masked robbers, armed with guns, stormed the bank taking away about 2.600.000 denars from the Bank and another 80.000 denars from the bank's customers. Afterwards, they fled the scene in an unknown direction.