Skopje, 7 October 2023 (MIA) - Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski refuses to anticipate the Parliament's decision over the amnesty law, but sticks to his position that the law doesn't fix the problem strategically. 

"I have a very clear position regarding this issue - changing a legal solution or passing a special law that will enable amnesty for persons should have a certain ultimate goal. If the goal is to functionally relieve the penitentiary institutions, it will not happen, because according to the Agency for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, it is a matter of some 260 people or maybe some 400 people who would receive a reduction of the sentence. Given the number of people who are serving a prison sentence and the number of those waiting for the execution of a criminal sanction, it can be concluded that one must be careful about the strategic approach regarding the execution of the sanctions," Spasovski told MTV. 

He also pointed to the fact that there have been 500 cases of recidivism in the first eight months of 2023. 

According to Spasovski, the strategic approach is in building new prison facilities and putting leg irons in operation so that some of the people could serve their criminal sentence at home. 

"It is not a strategic approach, and it is not in the interest of security to have criminals out of penitentiary facilities, on the streets, because we had one such case of amnesty law where in a very short time, in just three months, it ended up as repeat offenders mainly on thefts, aggravated thefts, robberies, disturbances of public order and peace. In that sense, I believe that absolutely no goal will be achieved," said Spasovski. 

As regards illegal migration, Spasovski pointed out that attempts at illegal migration have decreased by 50 percent and the efficiency of the Ministry of Interior in detecting migrant smugglers has increased. According to Spasovski, the cooperation with Frontex that started in April also gives excellent results in preventing illegal attempts and detecting migrant smuggling.

Photo: Ministry of Interior