The Veles double murder-suicide, that is, the murder of 31-year-old Rosica Koceva by, according to suspicions, her former partner, 39-year-old Ilija Stefanovski, who killed himself, has continued to spark reactions on social media, that is, criticism of institutions, especially with regards to the court’s restraining order, which is the mildest punishment, even though there had been charges against Stefanovski concerning physical violence, a burned-down vehicle, and blackmail through a USB stick with explicit videos.
Elena Dimusevska of the National Network to End Violence against Women and Domestic Violence considers that the fact that Stefanovski had previously not had issues with the law mustn’t be a reason for a suspended sentence in such cases.
She calls on courts to make detailed assessments and face evidence highly seriously in order to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Dimusevska believes that the problems facing victims will be resolved if domestic violence starts to be prosecuted ex officio, that is, that changing the law without providing institutional care for them and their kids is pointless. On Thursday (18 September), a protest will be held in Skopje over the Veles femicide.