A police uniform does not give you the right to use violence, says Astrit Iseni

Astrit Iseni, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, has issued a public statement following the incident in which two young men were assaulted in Skopje, insisting that police actions must always be guided by the law and professional standards.

According to him, wearing a police uniform does not constitute any kind of authorization to use force, even when there are suspicions about individuals who are stopped or searched.

“Every police intervention must comply with the law and professional standards,” Iseni said.

He announced that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in cooperation with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, is carrying out intensive work to fully clarify the case. According to him, the evidence will be analyzed with the utmost seriousness, and anyone who has violated the law will face the consequences.

Iseni added that, in his assessment, the incident does not have an ethnic connotation, explaining that the patrol involved was made up of members of different ethnic groups.

He appealed for the issue not to be instrumentalized to provoke interethnic divisions, emphasizing the importance of fully clarifying the incident and imposing legal punishment for any proven violation.