Although men and women should be equal, and even women should have greater privileges, in 2023 in Macedonia this is not the case even when it comes to serving a prison sentence.

While the only choice for women convicts is “Idrizovo” prison, men can literally choose where they want to serve their sentence. Those with more difficult conditions stay in Idrizovo, while others can choose whether to stay in Stip, Prilep, another prison, or the most popular one in Struga.

The most typical example of discrimination is the former Minister of Interior, Gordana Jankuloska, who is serving a prison sentence for the “Tank” case, and on top of that, there are two other cases against her.

Now the former director of the Administration of Enforcement of Sanctions, Marjan Spasoski, admits that there is a flaw in the rules of the “Idrizovo” prison.

In the case of Jankuloska we are talking about a female convicted person and she is in Idrizovo in a closed type, here there is an error in the part of the rule book. At this moment, the handicap for her is that she is serving time in the Idrizovo prison because there is only a women’s ward in that prison. It is discrimination and we are working to change the rules. Now we have determined that female prisoners are discriminated against, Spasovski explained to “A1on”.

Lawyer Vlatko Ilievski explained this omission in detail in an interview with “Republika”. He confirms that there is an inconsistency between the rules for the deployment and placement of convicted persons with the law on the execution of sanctions.

On the other hand, the fact that female convicts can serve their sentence only in “Idrizovo”, which is of the closed type, unlike men who can choose where they will serve their time, puts them in an unequal position, that is, discriminates against them.

I have also submitted a complaint to the Commission for the Protection and Prevention of Discrimination and I hope that they will also find the virtue to react. We are talking about those convicted persons against whom other proceedings are being conducted. The use of benefits such as weekends or visits outside the institution, holidays, and work engagements, they are related to the condition that no other proceedings are being conducted. This condition is contrary to the law on the execution of sanctions and the presumption of innocence, because many of those procedures may end with an acquittal. Unlike them, these conditions do not apply to men, explains lawyer Ilievski in the interview with “Republika”.