MACEDONIA: 110 YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR TIP GROUP

UNCLAS SKOPJE 000240 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE; STATE FOR G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: 110 YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR TIP GROUP UPHELD ON APPEAL REF: 07 SKOPJE 185 SUMMARY ¶1. (SBU) The Skopje Appellate Court upheld February 1 the sentences of 21 defendants in the 2007 trafficking-in-persons (TIP) case Jug 2 (reftel). Less than a year after the beginning of the trial, the court system has concluded this high-profile TIP case, giving the 21 defendants a total of over 110 years in prison. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On March 31, the Secretary of the TIP National Commission confirmed media reports that on February 1, the Skopje Appellate Court upheld the November 27, 2007 sentences of the 21 defendants in the Jug 2 TIP case. Confirming the defendants' sentences for crimes under Art. 418b ("smuggling of migrants") and Art. 418c ("organizing a group for TIP"), the Appellate Court added to the basic court's sentences for the group's ringleaders. The sentences ranged from 18 months to 12 1/2 years in prison, bringing the total to over 110 years for the entire group. The higher court also confirmed the confiscation of thirteen vehicles and a number of mobile phones, which the defendants had used to communicate while trafficking Albanian, Moldovan and Indian citizens from Macedonia into Greece from December 2005 to May 2006. COMMENT ¶3. (SBU) The swift conclusion of the high-profile Jug 2 case marks an important step in Macedonia's fight against TIP. Upholding the basic court sentences, and giving higher sentences to the TIP group's ringleaders, showed that the courts here are able and willing to punish traffickers with deterrent sentences. MILOVANOVIC