Stojna from Kratovo detained again at Kuklica: she charged an entry fee and threatened two visitors from Skopje

On October 27 at 11:30, police from the Kratovo station detained 41-year-old Stojna Dimitrovska from Kratovo. According to a complaint by two men from Skopje, R.P. and J.B., she tried to charge them for tickets to the "Stone Dolls" site near Kuklica and then threatened them. Once the case is fully documented, a formal charge against her will follow.

This is a rerun, not a premiere. Dimitrovska has been detained before for charging entry at the Stone Dolls. The Interior Ministry said earlier that an indictment for usurpation of property had been filed against her, her father Miloš and their association, and that Stojna had also received a penalty order for threatening tourists. Visitors have complained publicly that when they refused to pay, they were met with aggression, stones and dogs set loose.

The Municipality of Kratovo claims the area has been illegally usurped, while at the same time excusing itself by saying it can't secure access to the site on its own. Opposite claims are circulating too: that the site sits on private land, that access runs across private property, and that Dimitrovska received EU grants to develop it. If those claims are true, the question isn't only who is charging, but who has the right to.

That is the heart of it. One of the most recognisable natural monuments in Macedonia has been functioning for years as a disputed plot, and the public learns about it mostly from police bulletins. Who owns the land? Who has the legal right to manage the site? And does the municipality have a legal basis for what it is doing? Until the institutions answer, a tourist heading for Kuklica doesn't know whether they're buying a ticket or paying a ransom.