Innocent people detained for loving their country, VMRO-DPMNE Gruevski tells Hungarian FM

Fundamental human rights are undermined in Macedonia as VMRO-DPMNE members and prominent public figures, who fail to share the government’s opinion, have been a target of political persecution, outgoing party’s leader Nikola Gruevski said late Monday at a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.

Innocent people are in detention only because they are open-minded, love and respect their own country, which is a rare example of a ‘captured country’, where the rule of law is replaced by making decisions under a political pressure, Gruevski said.

For Gruevski, the Special and Public Prosecution Offices (SPO & PPO respectively) function as a political instrument that completely circumvent the legal standards, VMRO-DPMNE said in a press release.

‘VMRO-DPMNE supported Macedonia’s EU, NATO accession, being ready to take part in the reform process until the point when SDS government went too far and launched a political persecution that culminated with detaining of six MPs for non-existent act of terrorism. Unfortunately there are only promises and no reforms,’ Gruevski told Szijjártó.