Six Police Officers Suspended over the Beating near Saraj: The Interior Ministry Admits Irregularities, the Union Tells a Completely Different Story

Six police officers will be suspended and face disciplinary proceedings over the beating of two young men from Saraj, aged 21 and 23. The Interior Ministry announced it four days after the incident of 7 October - and after a political party had already published photos of the battered young men.

The Department for Internal Control, Criminal Investigations and Professional Standards, according to the statement, found "a series of irregularities" in the conduct of the police officers. The findings are based on footage of the incident and witness statements. The statement speaks of excessive use of physical force and bodily injuries inflicted while exercising police powers.

The timeline is depressingly familiar. First DUI published photos of the young men, then a video it claims is from the scene - filmed from a distance, without sound, through fog, with flashing police lights in the background and several people kicking and punching. Only then did internal control start checking. When an institution reacts only after parties have turned a case into a political issue, the message citizens get is that justice depends on who makes the most noise.

There's a second version of the story, too. The Independent Police Union claims it was an operation against drug trafficking: the suspects first tried to run the officers over, then took a service weapon from one of them, and while fleeing caused several traffic accidents on the Skopje - Tetovo motorway, which is where they were injured. According to the union, the drugs were found during a follow-up check, and the ethnicity of the officers is irrelevant.

Both versions can't be entirely true. If the young men really were injured while fleeing and in road accidents, why did the ministry itself find irregularities in the conduct of six of its own officers? And if the union has information about drugs, a seized weapon and an attempt to run officers over, why isn't any of that in the ministry's official statement?

The criminal side of the story is still to come. Prosecutors have ordered forensic examinations, and once the evidence is documented, the ministry says, "appropriate filings" will be submitted. The disciplinary procedure and suspension are an internal measure - not a verdict.

The question that remains is simple: will the public get to see the footage the ministry based its decision on, or will this case also end with a statement, a suspension and silence until attention moves on to the next scandal?