On 2 August, in the village of Tashmarunishta near Struga, at an event marking Ilinden, a 52-year-old man shouted verbal insults at members of the state delegation, among them Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski. At 14:15 he was taken into custody. Up to that point - standard police procedure.

What is not standard is where the classification of the offence ended up. He was initially reported for "obstructing an official in the performance of official duties". Then, as the Interior Ministry announced, the offence was reclassified as "violence" under Article 386, paragraph 5 of the Criminal Code - a provision that covers hate-motivated violence.

From an insult to a hate crime in a matter of hours

This is worth pausing on. Hate-motivated violence is a heavy legal construct, designed for offences driven by the victim's racial, ethnic, religious or similar identity. The Struga police department filed criminal charges on exactly that basis against S.G. (52) from Struga.

Do insults shouted at a prime minister during a public event fit that framework? The prosecution will decide first, then the court. But the reclassification itself is what leaves a bitter taste - same event, same man, same spoken words, and the legal weight shifted mid-procedure.

Nobody is going to defend hurling abuse at anyone, at a public event or on the street. But there is a difference between a misdemeanour for disturbing public order and a hate crime. The difference is measured in years of prison behind each of them. And in the message it sends to every citizen who ever thought about shouting something at a minister.

Ilinden is the day the state reminds itself of an uprising against those in power. On that very holiday, someone ended up facing criminal charges for shouting at a delegation. The choice of classification will be tested in court - and it is a good thing that it will be, because the answer applies to far more people than this one man from Struga.