In the climate of mass persecution of political opponents, the Ombudsperson saw the number of complaints against judicial decisions double in 2018 compared to the previous year.

According to Deputy Ombudsperson Vaska Bajramovska Mustafa, this reflects a drop in the public trust in the judiciary.

Last year we acted on 4.482 petitions and we raised 50 cases on our own. Most of these were in the area of the judiciary, but also labour relations, the conditions in the penal institutions, police overstepping its authority…, said Bajramovska.

According to her, no positive change could be noticed in the actions of the state prosecutors. On top of the political persecution in the judiciary, the Ombudsperson noted partisan discrimination in the workforce as well.

We determined that the practice of partisan revenge pressures in the public sector is continuing, especially after each elections. This was noticeable in the education sector, in the child – care, and when employees asked to have their part time jobs turned into permanent, Bajramovska added.