Following the incident at the Skopje city square, where a reckless driver panicked Christmas shoppers when he sped through a set of ornaments, VMRO-DPMNE spokesman Naum Stoilkovski called for his arrest, pointing to his lenghty criminal record.
The person in question is Burim Maslam or Burim Haracina, sentenced for attempted murder and with a long record of violent theft. “Last year a raid in his home in Aracinovo led to a discovery of illegal weapons and drugs”.

This person is left unpunished for weapons charges, attempted murder and violence, and is now let loose on the streets of Skopje, Stoilkovski said.

The case came to prominence when Skopje Mayor Petre Silegov bragged about the fine issued to him. Silegov publicly shared the fine issued to the Maslam for his reckless stunt which forced families to flee out of the way of his car. But when it became apparent that the driver will be fined a mere 45 EUR – peanuts given that the car he used to cause the incident was a Bentley – the attempted PR move on the part of the Mayor backfired badly.

The outrage prompted Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski to do damage control, and call for a hike in fines for reckless drivers. But the fines were greatly reduced on his watch, so the ridiculous fine for public endangerment during the Christmas market, which worried many that it could be a terror attack, is issued under a suggestion from Spasovski himself.

What happened on the streets of Skopje is the latest piece of evidence that under Zaev and Spasovski the rule of law is not functional and criminals are kept protected. Spasovski and Silegov are making a mockery of justice with the fine of 45 EUR. This is a convicted criminal speeding in a Bentley through the Skopje city square, Stoilkovski said.

The man had also posted footage driving his car over 220 kilometers per hour. Aleksandar Pandov from VMRO-DPMNE pointed to the fact that Maslam hasn’t had a day of legal work in his life and yet owns a Bentley. Pandov called for the authorities to use traffic and money laundering laws and seize his car.