Skopje, 29 November 2024 (MIA) — A pre-trial judge at the Skopje Criminal Court has ordered eight days' detention for three persons who were brought before the judge Friday afternoon at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office to detain them over the incident of desecrating the national flag on Thursday evening.

"On Nov. 28, 2024, between 8 pm and 11 pm on Krste Misirkov Boulevard in Skopje, after the end of an event on Skenderbeg Square celebrating the Albanian Flag Day, the suspects incited hatred, discord and intolerance on ethnic grounds by mocking national symbols, i.e., by burning, destroying and tearing the national flag," the PPO said in a press release.

The detention order is to prevent the suspects from fleeing to avoid criminal proceedings and to prevent them from repeating the offense, according to the Criminal Court.

People waving flags while being driven in cars across Skopje and several other cities in the country in which the majority of citizens are ethnic Albanians celebrated Albanian Flag Day on Thursday evening.

Videos posted on social media showed several men desecrating the Macedonian flag and a car running over it.

Parties, both ruling and opposition, condemned the flag desecration and demanded that perpetrators be punished. 

Earlier on Friday, Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said eight people had been arrested after participating in Thursday’s incidents.

He said four of them were suspected of violating Article 319 of the Criminal Code – causing national, racial or religious hate, discord and intolerance – which he said warranted imprisonment of at least one year.

He said all of the arrested were young people, with one being a minor. According to Toshkovski, one of the arrested was caught setting the Macedonian flag on fire while another one was lowering the flag. The other four people were arrested for participating in a fight. ad/ba/mr