Four minors from Gjorce Petrov ordered to juvenile correctional facility
A juvenile court issued custodial educational measures for one year and eight months respectively; the written decision is still being prepared and is not final.
Four minors from the Skopje municipality of Gjorce Petrov have been ordered to serve time in a juvenile correctional facility after being found responsible in the first-instance procedure for two separate attacks on a 13-year-old girl.
One of the girls received a measure of one year, while the other three were each ordered to serve eight months in the institution. The measures were pronounced by a juvenile judge, but the court decision is not yet final: the written ruling is still being prepared and has not been delivered to the parties.
Case background and criminal proceedings
The assaults took place on 27 and 30 March 2026 in Gjorce Petrov and involved four minors from Skopje — one aged 17 and three aged 14. Parts of the violence were recorded on mobile phones, and photos and videos from the episodes were later shared on social media.
Police filed criminal charges against the four girls on 29 April for two counts of “violence,” under Article 386 of the Criminal Code. On 6 May the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Skopje requested that preparatory proceedings be instituted against the minors under the Law on Justice for Children and sought precautionary measures given the gravity and manner of the offences.
The incident also prompted action against adults: on 5 May police filed six criminal complaints against parents of children connected to the attacks on suspicion of the criminal offense of “neglect and ill‑treatment of a child,” and investigators said they were taking steps to verify allegations and gather evidence.
School bodies imposed pedagogical measures on students involved, and the injured girl followed classes from home for a period. The public debate around the case has focused on peer violence, parental responsibility and schools’ role in detecting and preventing such behaviour.
The recent court ruling gives the case a concrete outcome at first instance, but the decision can be appealed or otherwise challenged before it becomes final.
Photo: press material from the event
