ERRC Calls for Attempted Murder Charge After 14-Year-Old Romani Boy Stabbed 7 Times and Left for Dead
07 July 2026
Brussels, 7 July 2026: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) has written to the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Interior in North Macedonia urging investigating authorities to carry out an effective criminal investigation into the attempted murder of a 14-year-old Romani boy by three adult male attackers in Skopje. A criminal complaint has been opened against the attackers for the offence of "violence against a child" which the ERRC considers inadequate.
On 22 June 2026, a fourteen-year-old Romani boy from the Madžari neighbourhood was lured via telephone call to a park near Finska Street in Čento, Gazi Baba municipality, where three adult men (since identified by police as J.J., V.A., and V.S.) carried out a coordinated assault. According to the victim's mother, speaking to Sloboden Pechat and Libertas, one attacker struck the boy on the head with a firearm, a second beat him across the body, and a third stabbed him seven times in the back with a knife. The attackers left the boy unconscious in the park; a passer-by found him and called emergency services. He underwent urgent surgery.
On 2 July, the Ministry of Interior confirmed in a statement that three adults from Skopje "were deprived of their liberty because they physically attacked a minor and injured him with a sharp object." Police have opened a criminal complaint of "violence against a child" under Article 201a of the Criminal Code.
The boy's mother, Dzheljana Selimi, in a statement to the news outlet Sloboden Pechat, said that the police were treating the case as mere assault rather than attempted murder, despite the fact that one of the attackers was armed with a Kalashnikov, and the other with a knife. Ms. Selimi insisted that her son had no prior conflicts with anyone, and that the motive for the assault remains a complete mystery to the family:
"I asked how the case was being handled. They told me that the case was not being handled as an 'attempted murder' but as an 'assault'. I said how is this possible? There is no logic. An attempted murder is one thing, assault is another. They told me that it was none of their business, they could do nothing, that I should get a lawyer and see what happens next. The prosecution has not summoned me. I don't want the case to remain like this. Today it happened to my child, tomorrow it could happen to another child," she said.
The boy has since been discharged from hospital and is recovering at home. However, his mother stated that both she and her son feel unsafe and afraid in their own house. According to the ERRC's local human rights monitor, none of the reporting so far has mentioned any psychosocial support or police-led protection measures for the boy or his family, suggesting a complete absence of victim safety and support.
ERRC urges reclassification of charges
The ERRC has demanded that investigating authorities reclassify the attack as attempted murder under Article 123 read with Article 19 of the Criminal Code, rather than the lesser "violence against a child" charge currently filed by police. The aggravated form under Article 123(2) is supported by three coordinated attackers armed with a Kalashnikov and a knife, seven targeted stab wounds to the back, and the use of a phone call to lure the victim indicating pre-planning.
ERRC President Ðorđe Jovanović said: "Three adult men armed with a Kalashnikov and a knife lured a Romani child to a park and left him for dead. Calling this 'violence against a child' is an insult to the victim and his family. We expect the prosecution to file charges that reflect the full gravity of what happened."
The ERRC also urged authorities to issue a public statement clarifying the legal qualification of the case, provide the family with formal written communication on the charges and timeline, and implement child-specific protective measures under the Law on Justice for Children.
Bias motivation and international obligations
No media coverage has explicitly mentioned the victim's ethnicity. However, a Romani journalist and community sources have confirmed that the boy is Romani and comes from the Roma-majority Madžari neighbourhood in Skopje. While no racial slurs have been reported, the victim's Roma identity, the severity of the violence, and the complete absence of any alternative explanation for the attack all warrant a proper investigation into whether bias played a role.
North Macedonian law requires courts to consider whether a crime was motivated by the victim's race, ethnicity, or membership of a marginalised group. If investigators fail to examine potential bias motivation, North Macedonia would be in breach of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and multiple UN conventions on racial discrimination and children's rights.
This press release is also available in Macedonian.
The correspondence with investigating authorities is available here.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, contact:
Jonathan Lee
Advocacy & Communications Director
European Roma Rights Centre
jonathan.lee@errc.org
+32 49 288 7679
Mustafa Asanovski
Regional Human Rights Monitor
European Roma Rights Centre
mustafa.asanovski@errc.org
+389 77 835 187
