Skopje, 7 April 2024 (MIA) – Several political parties, government officials and presidential candidates condemned Sunday’s arrest of journalist Furkan Saliu.

The Deputy Prime Minister for European affairs, Bojan Marichikj, condemned the arrest in a Facebook post, stating “It’s Furkan today, it could be anyone else tomorrow. Regime never again.”

VMRO-DPMNE called for the case to be fully cleared up and urged that Furkan Saliu’s rights and freedoms as a journalist be respected. The party said it defends and respects the work of journalists and their freedom to report on events and topics of public interest without any obstructions. It also said it condemns “any attack on any employee of the Interior Ministry”, and if such an attack is confirmed, “then the perpetrators should bear the consequences in line with the legislation and the Constitution.” 

At a press conference on Sunday evening, SDSM’s spokesperson Darko Kaevski strongly condemned the arrest and urged the release of Furkan Saliu. Kaevski alleged the arrest is “an attempt to silence and intimidate after the journalist published an affair directly related to DPMNE”. He described the incident as an act of “direct and brutal pressure on independent journalists.”

The SDSM-endorsed presidential candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, said he doesn’t have details over the arrest, but seeing the video of it reminded him of the “old dark times of Gruevski’s rule, when journalists ended up in prison and were beaten and silenced.”

DUI’s presidential candidate Bujar Osmani also condemned the arrest and called for an immediate release of Furkan Saliu. “Freedom of speech is the title of every democratic society,” Osmani wrote.

In a press release, “Worth It” coalition’s presidential candidate Arben Taravari said the arrest of the journalist was carried out under suspicious circumstances, while he was doing his job. He urged the immediate release of Saliu and that the case be fully cleared up.

The Liberal Democratic Party condemned the arrest, stating that such an arrest is impermissible in a democratic state.

Photo: Bojan Marichikj's Facebook profile