Boban Utkovski resigns as head of Shutka prison

Boban Utkovski has resigned from his post as director of the Skopje-Skopje Prison in Shuto Orizare, the government said in a response to “Sloboden Pechat.” The news initially circulated on social media, but had not been officially confirmed until then.

According to the resignation submitted, Utkovski made the decision for personal reasons. His request is expected to be reviewed at one of the government’s upcoming sessions.

The government announced that, once a new director is appointed for the Skopje-Skopje Prison in Shuto Orizare, the public will be informed in due time and through the appropriate channels.

The newspaper “Sloboden Pechat” attempted to obtain a statement from Utkovski regarding the reasons for his departure, but he responded neither to messages nor to phone calls. Meanwhile, the director of the Directorate for the Enforcement of Sanctions, Aleksandar Pandov, said that he had not communicated with Utkovski in recent months, although Utkovski had been appointed on Pandov’s proposal.

Utkovski’s last public appearance to attract attention concerned the security of former Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi. Rejecting claims by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Security Agency, whose information led to Grubi being placed under house arrest on the grounds that he was not safe, Utkovski said that Shutka prison was not a Mexican cartel and that security there was the top priority.

Filip Andov-Sokol, the former director of Shutka prison, was sentenced to eight months in prison for abuses committed at the institution. (Slobodenpecat.mk)