A pre-trial judge at the Skopje Basic Criminal Court, acting upon a proposal by the prosecutor from the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption (PPO OCC) to order detention for D.J. from Kochani, and having heard the suspect in the presence of his defense counsel, as well as assessed the facts and evidence submitted with the proposal, issued a ruling granting the request and ordering detention for a period of 30 days.
The detention was ordered based on grounds stipulated in Article 165, Paragraph 1, Items 1 and 2 of the Law on Criminal Procedure (LCP), specifically, the risk of the suspect fleeing and a reasonable doubt that he might obstruct the investigation by influencing witnesses.
The detention order takes effect on October 3, 2026, given that the individual is currently already serving a detention order in the case related to the fire at the Pulse nightclub.
In the newly opened investigation for which detention was proposed, D.J. is suspected of committing the criminal offense of bribing under Article 358, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. Given that the suspect was serving the detention measure ordered in the Pulse case at the Kumanovo Penitentiary, having originally been remanded by the Kochani Basic Court, he will now be transferred to Skopje Prison to serve the newly ordered detention measure, in accordance with the Rulebook on the Escort and Serving of Ordered Measures to Ensure Presence.