To mark Ilinden, President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova signed a decision pardoning 25 convicted individuals. Six are fully released from serving the remainder of their sentence, and nineteen had the remainder reduced.

Those fully released are Ilin Anusev from Skopje, Trajco Tancev from Kavadarci, Amir Saiti from Cegrane near Gostivar, Borce Nasteski from Tazevo near Makedonski Brod, Blagojce Petreski from Prilep and Amin Hajcoski from Osoj near Kicevo.

For the remaining nineteen, the reductions range from five months to a year and a half. The largest reduction, of one year and six months, went to Jmer Sefije Jakupi from the village of Zajas near Kicevo.

The decision was made under Article 84 of the Constitution and the Law on Pardons, and takes effect immediately upon signing.

The power exists, the explanation is missing

A pardon is a constitutional power of the president and requires no other institution's approval. That is not in dispute. Something else is: the names and the lengths of the reductions were published, but not the reasons.

A pardon is not an automatic holiday greeting - it is an individual decision about an individual person, made on somebody's request and somebody's assessment. When the public gets only the list and not the reasoning, all it can do is look at twenty-five names and guess.

This is not about suspecting something is being hidden. It is about what keeps an institution above suspicion in the first place - and that is the reasoning. Twenty-five sentences would have been enough.