Toskovski: The Skopje Prison has functioned more as a tourist-catering legal entity than as a prison

During yesterday's action, which was carried out on the orders of a pre -trial judge, two searches were carried out by the Ministry of Interior and two people were deprived of their liberty in Skopje Prison, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said today during a visit to Stip. He pointed out that the allegations that they have made from the evidence so far have given the grounds that the Skopje Prison has so far functioned as a tourist-catering legal entity than as a prison, and who should take care of convicted persons in accordance with legal provisions.

– We appreciate once and for all that this way of abusing Macedonian citizens should end within these institutions. Because all the conditions provided to the convicts, and in accordance with the law, they did not have the type of private visits to be made from eight to ten hours during the day outside the prison, with prison security, official vehicles, with official fuel and excessive hours paid not from a private legal entity. I really think that it should remain in oblivion for any action that is of this type should have an appropriate procedure, we will eventually leave the court on whether to decide to impose appropriate sanctions – said Toskovski.

The Minister of Interior Toskovski emphasized that in addition to being repressive for specific persons, they will also act preventively in terms of a message to the public that impunity remains in forgetfulness and finally the law applies equally to everyone and applies to a European state.

Asked if they know that such things happened in other prisons in the country, Toskovski responding that the Hotel « Promaya » was not only in prison Skopje, but also in some other prisons in the country.

– We have taken procedural actions, ie we have filed criminal charges in the past few months and for another prison that has been managed by also certain persons who have illegally acted in the part of the convicts. So, this is not the first case we do of this type and for which we file criminal charges. I believe that other procedures will be followed in the future, which will be related to a similar type of crime- said Toskovski during a visit to Stip.