Svetlana Mijatović (62) from Lazarevac for years she had problems at border crossings because of the name and date of birth she shares with the woman who was on Interpol warrants, but the inconvenience culminated at the end of May when, instead of going to the sea with her husband, she spent seven hours at the border of North Macedonia and Greece.
Svetlana Mijatović was stopped at border crossings for years because of her name, surname and date of birth, but every time she was quickly released after short checks.
She never received any confirmation in writing, nor any information about why the "red light" on her passport came on, FoNet agency writes.
Swastika of a fugitive businessman
However, after a subsequent search on the Internet, she found that she has the same first and last name and date of birth as a certain Svetlana Mijatović, who was arrested in 2021.
The media reported that the Serbian citizen was arrested in accordance with the bilateral agreement between Montenegro and Serbia, which regulates issues of extradition of citizens of the two countries.
Interpol's international warrant was issued in order to ensure her presence in the criminal proceedings being conducted before the High Court in Podgorica, due to the creation of a criminal organization, evasion of taxes and contributions, and money laundering. The media also stated that it was the swastika of the fugitive businessman Duško Knežević.
Photographing, taking fingerprints and DNA samples
There is no new news in the media and on portals about the case and the fate of the arrested Serbian citizen, but it certainly affects the life and fate of Svetlana Mijatović from Lazarev, who, instead of reaching the sea, was taken off the bus on May 31 and detained first at the Tabanovce border crossing, and then at the police station in Kumanovo.
The agony she was going through lasted seven hours, and the bus of the Sole Azur agency went on to Greece without them.
"I'm not guilty of anything, it's not a problem that they check me, but why does it take this long. I can't explain to you how I felt, as if I were a criminal. When I went to Kumanovo, to the police, I already saw how serious it was and how helpless the man was and didn't know who to turn to and whether or not he was allowed to say something," Svetlana Mijatović described the treatment she underwent, which included taking photos, taking fingerprints and DNA samples.
She points out that the Macedonian police were correct, but that for her, who had two strokes, it was a great stress, and the event also shook her husband, a heart patient with six stents.
Her husband got off the bus with her, and he had to manage to get from the border crossing to the police station by taxi.
Solution? Always carry a receipt.
She is seeking legal protection and wonders how she was able to get a new passport last year and how it is possible that the Lazarevka police told her that her documents were completely correct.
Svetlana Mijatović also notes that she was told on several occasions at border crossings and by the police that similar things will always happen to her and that the only way to avoid potential problems is to carry a valid certificate that she has not been convicted on every trip.
"I am a pensioner, I have a pension of 50.000, for each trip I have to pay a thousand and some dinars for that certificate, neither guilty nor obligated," says Svetlana Mijatović.
She notes that the problem is not in money, but in principle, and that she no longer wants to suffer mistreatment, nor to be treated like a criminal.
"A lady from our bus asked me: 'Have you paid all your bills, maybe that's why they won't let you cross the border?' "Everyone was looking at me, I felt like I was the culprit," explains Svetlana Mijatović.
Objections to the agency
She also has objections to the fact that the Sole azur agency left her and her husband in the lurch and did not in any way wait to see their fate and enable them to go to sea after all.
They were only delivered suitcases with belongings, and when they went to the agency to see if they could be compensated in any way, they were met with a shrug of the shoulders.
"What is the duty of tour guides when they lead travelers, and this kind of situation happens to them? Shouldn't they have the number of a legal entity, for example, the number of our embassy in the country we are passing through? I was left at the mercy of everything," said Svetlana Mijatović.
Source: FoNet
