Special police

New Citizen Protection Minister Notis Mitarakis on Wednesday announced a radical rethinking of the role and structural organization of the special university police force set up by the government in its previous term.

Ljubljana – Interior Minister Aleš Hojs hosted a meeting of the ATLAS Commanders Forum held in Ljubljana on Tuesday, attended by representatives of the special police units from the EU member states. Hojs said that terrorism was placed high on the EU priority list and that the role of ATLAS network was important as well.

All 29 men accused of being part of or helping the armed group that clashed with police in ethnically-mixed Kumanovo in May this year told the Skopje court on Monday that they were not terrorists.

The ethnic Albanian suspects denied the charges and said the bloody two-day shootout was a result of them defending themselves from the police.

Bulgaria's Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov will launch major police raids on the roads countrywide every Friday and Saturday night.

Starting next Friday, some 8,000 police officers will take part in the special police operation. They will inspect all vehicles, focusing on areas near drinking and entertainment establishments, Bulgarian Trud informs.