LDP: Police and courts act fast only to protect the government

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) accused state institutions of double standards after the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Public Prosecutor's Office moved swiftly in a case involving threats against Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.

In a statement, the LDP said the rapid response to the messages aimed at the prime minister exposed unequal treatment: "When his holiness, the self-proclaimed head of the new elite, receives a threat on social networks, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reacts at the speed of light: the perpetrator from Kumanovo's Cherkezi is immediately identified, the Public Prosecutor's Office prosecutes him swiftly, and the entire state apparatus is put into operation to protect him," the party said.

Party says justice works, but selectively

The Prosecutor's Office in Kumanovo opened proceedings yesterday against a 39-year-old resident of the village of Cherkezi on suspicion of committing the criminal offence of endangering security under Article 144, paragraph 5 of the Criminal Code. The Basic Court in Kumanovo, at the prosecutor's request, ordered eight days of detention for the suspect citing a flight risk and noting he was previously known to law enforcement for violent crimes, usury and multiple public order offenses.

The LDP contrasted that swift action with what it described as slow or absent institutional responses to other threats. The party said reports of direct death threats against its leader, Monika Zajkova, and other public figures and citizens have remained unresolved for months or years without any institutional outcome.

"This sends a worrying message: for the self-styled elite the laws, punishment, swift justice and idol-worship apply, while ordinary citizens are left only with open threats and insecurity," the party added, calling for an end to the use of state resources for personal protection and PR spectacles and demanding a rule-of-law in which laws and protection apply equally to all.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski commented that he expects the competent authorities to give the case an appropriate legal outcome. He disclosed the content of the messages and said, "If I were not an institution, I know how those things are resolved."

Photo: press material from the event