Macedonia police document leak dispute

The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) has accused members of the VMRO-DPMNE party and certain police officers of illegally obtaining and publishing confidential police documents from the Strumica police station.

Initially, the SDSM youth wing demanded a probe into the leak, alleging that official secrets were used to target young activists in Novo Selo. Spokesperson Christian Eftimov called for investigations into the police officers involved, Interior Minister Panche Toskovski, and Valentin Manasievski.

Following these demands, the SDSM filed formal criminal complaints with the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office and the Prosecutor's Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime. The complaints allege that police officers committed abuse of official position, disclosure of official secrets, and misuse of personal data. The party further alleges that Valentin Manasievski misused personal data and engaged in incitement by publicly presenting criminal record information to promote party interests.

SDSM General Secretary Aleksandar Sasha Dimitrijeviq has reinforced these allegations, stating that police officers abused their positions to leak classified criminal records to VMRO-DPMNE for partisan purposes to target activists. In response, Manasievski has denied the allegations, claiming he lacks access to police systems and asserting that the information regarding the activists' criminal backgrounds was published in the public interest.