Shooting of seven 'terrorists' staged for US, says Macedonia
By Konstantin Testorides in Skopje
01 May 2004
Police in Macedonia said yesterday that the killing of seven alleged
terrorists two years ago was staged to win US support and that the
victims were simply illegal immigrants.
Mirjana Konteska, a police spokeswoman, said that six people,
including three former police commanders, two special police officers
and a businessman, have been charged with murder. "That was an act of
a sick mind," she said. "They ordered the brutal murder of seven
Pakistani men."
The killings were carried out in March 2002 by special police who
claimed to have eliminated a terrorist group plotting to attack
embassies and representatives in Macedonia. The spokeswoman said that
the seven victims had been lured into Macedonia with promises that
they would be transferred to Western Europe. They were taken by police
to the Rastanski Lozja area, which is north-east of the capital
Skopje, where they were encircled and shot by special officers using
automatic weapons.
"They lost their lives in a staged murder," she said. There was no
immediate comment from international officials in Macedonia. Western
representatives in the country had demanded an investigation.
Macedonia has been a close US ally in the Balkans and has supported
the war on terrorism.
Also facing possible charges in connection with the case is the former
Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski, who was chief of police at the
time. He is likely to be charged if parliament revokes the immunity
from prosecution he enjoys as a deputy.
He denied the allegations, telling reporters that he and his
associates were tipped off about the alleged terrorists by
unidentified American intelligence officers. If found guilty, the
suspects could face from 10 years to life in prison.
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