The police officer from Bitola who participated in the beating of Roma citizens in Bitola two years ago was sentenced to one year in prison, according to the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association. The Skopje Criminal Court found the police officer guilty in the repeated procedure, after the Court of Appeals overturned the verdict and returned the case for retrial.
It is about the event that happened in September 2020, when the police, as seen in the video published at the time, used excessive force on a group of Roma, after the son of the beaten Nevzat Jasharovski, driving a car, hit a pole.
The Association of Young Lawyers says that the verdict is of great importance, because it is among the first first instance verdicts where an effective prison sentence is imposed on a police officer for the use of excessive force.
Protest marches were held by the Roma from Bitola, against the police violence, but also colleagues and citizens from the city protested in support of the police officer.
