At today’s presentation of the study on “Legal and budgetary implications of unjustified detainment”, held at the EU Info Centre in Skopje, it was pointed out that Macedonian courts have a going rate or amount of how much it costs each day spent in custody, which ranges from 2,500 to 3,500 denars (40-50 euros).
“Knowing that the ‘price’ to restrict freedom in the country is very low and that judges in civil courts have established a way for passing small and insignificant amounts of compensation, has a negative impact on judges in criminal proceedings when they rule on detainment without a second thought” was the conclusion of professors from the Faculty of Law Justinian I in Skopje, Gordana Buzarovska, Vanco Uzunov, Neda Zdraveva and Boban Misoski who are the authors of the study, which was financially supported by the Dutch embassy in the country.
The research covers the period from 2011 – 2015, and according to the data, in this period 138 Macedonian citizens were unjustly detained and later, no charges were brought against them or they were released after complaints during judicial proceedings.
According to the Public Prosecution, in the period between 2011-2015, nearly 6,700 defendants were found guilty. From this number, 1,700 defendants cases ended with acquittals, and nearly 3,000 defendants had their cases rejected by the court.
The Ambassador of the Netherlands, Wouter Plomp, who opened the presentation, stressed that the protection of human rights is a priority in the Netherlands, and that as a friend of Macedonia, the Netherlands invests a lot in these areas in the country. He noted that a major problem, which was noted by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, is the length of the duration of detention, which in Macedonia is significantly higher compared to countries in the EU and the Netherlands.