Sentenced to 16 years for terrorism and serious crimes, arrested only when he came back on his own through Blace

Two prison sentences of eight years each, two national and international arrest warrants - and the man came back into the country on his own, through the front door. At the Donje Blace border crossing, on entering Macedonia, police on 15 October detained 43-year-old F.T. from the village of Kondovo near Skopje.

The warrants were issued by the Skopje Basic Criminal Court. One eight-year sentence is for "serious crimes against public safety" under Article 288, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code, and the other, just as long, is for "terrorism" under Article 313. Sixteen years of prison in total, waiting to be served.

The Interior Ministry said only that the man would be handed over to the relevant prison. Nothing more: not how long he was out of the country, not where he was hiding, not when the verdicts were handed down.

The arrest is a success, and nobody disputes that. But the question that remains is simpler than any press release: how did a man with two sentences for terrorism and serious crimes against public safety end up outside the country instead of in prison - and how many more such "wanted" people are walking free until someone recognises them at a border?