Romani Man Shot in Macedonia
10 May 2003
On September 15, 2002, at around 5:00 AM, Mr Jonuz Redžepov, a 32-year-old Romani man, was shot by 43-year-old Mr Ljupčo Petrušev, a guard at a private factory in Sveti Nikole in central Macedonia. According to the Skopje-based daily newspaper Dnevnik, Mr Redžepov, together with another Romani man, entered the grounds of the factory with the intention to steal, and was shot in his chest by Mr Petrušev. According to Dnevnik, Mr Redžepov managed to escape and Mr Petrušev immediately notified the police. The Ministry of Interior stated that Mr Petrušev had ordered the two men to stop, and when they ignored his order, he fired his gun into the air to frighten them and they ran away, according to Dnevnik. The Ministry of Interior further stated that Mr Petrušev did not know that he had wounded Mr Redžepov. However, in his statement to the ERRC, taken in partnership with the Štip-based non-governmental organisation Association for Human Rights Protection of Roma (Zdruzenie za pravata na Romite - ARRP) on September 20, 2002, Mr Redžepov said that he was handing scrap metal to his companion, Mr Demir Azirovski, through a fence at the factory, when Mr Petrušev noticed them and told them to stop. Mr Redžepov stated that Mr Azirovski ran away but he stopped and raised his hands in the air, at which point Mr Petrušev fired his gun at him, hitting him in the chest. Mr Redžepov informed the ERRC/ARRP that he managed to escape and got into a taxicab, which brought him to the Štip Medical Centre, from which he was transferred to the Skopje Clinical Centre for treatment where he remained for four days. On November 25, 2002, the ERRC/ARRP submitted a complaint to the Sveti Nikole Basic Public Prosecution Office, requesting that criminal charges be brought against Mr Petrušev. As of the end of December 2002, the prosecutor had informed the ERRC/ARRP that Mr Petrušev had been charged with causing general danger, in accordance with Article 288 of the Macedonian Criminal Code.
(ARRP, Dnevnik, ERRC)
