The initiative to reduce prisoners’ sentences at Idrizovo by up to 20% has still not been submitted. The idea aims to ease overcrowding in prisons, a problem linked to insufficient capacity and the harsh conditions inside the prison. Idrizovo Director Zoran Jovanovski briefly told Alsat that the document for this initiative is still being prepared.
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The proposal remains only at the idea stage and has so far received no support. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said the issue would be considered only after the initiative was officially submitted.
“I am not aware of such an idea. When they submit it, we will comment on it,” Prime Minister Mickoski said briefly.
The Ministry of Justice told Alsat yesterday that it would act within the powers defined by law, while respecting the legislation in force and the relevant procedures. Meanwhile, the director of the Directorate for the Enforcement of Sanctions said that no amnesty is currently being prepared.
The proposal by the director of Idrizovo Prison, which has a capacity of around 1,800 people, envisages pardoning 10% to 20% of the total sentence for convicted persons. This would enable a gradual reduction in the number of prisoners. The last general amnesty was approved in 2018, precisely because of overcrowding. It excluded people convicted of murder, rape, terrorism, criminal offenses against the state, electoral fraud and crimes against humanity.
Another amnesty was approved in 2023, but it was limited to people fined for failing to comply with measures imposed to combat the Covid-19 epidemic.
While an expansion of capacity is awaited, prisoners continue to serve their sentences in inhumane conditions. In addition to the difficulties with accommodation, these conditions also affect social relations among inmates. In its 2025 report on North Macedonia, the European Commission calls for urgent improvements to prison conditions and broader use of alternatives to imprisonment, including probation.
