VMRO-DPMNE Deputy Secretary-General and a Member of Parliament Brane Petrushevski reacted on Saturday to a Supreme Court decision that overturned the convictions of the former directors of the Tetovo Clinical Hospital regarding the fire at the modular hospital, remanding the case for a retrial.
At a press conference, Petrushevski leveled political accusations against the President of the Supreme Court, Afrim Fidani, as well as the leaders of SDSM and DUI, Venko Filipche and Ali Ahmeti, stating that the decision deals a severe blow to the families of the victims of the tragedy.
“Afrim Fidani’s Supreme Court, guided by Filipche and Ahmeti, absolves from guilt the Tetovo hospital heads for the modular hospital fire. What a disgrace for the judiciary in Macedonia,” said Petrushevski.
The ruling party representative recalled that in previous legal proceedings, the former directors, Florim Besimi and Artan Etemi, were initially sentenced to one and a half years in prison each; subsequently, the Court of Appeals increased their sentences to three years in prison each.
“Not only did they receive one-and-a-half-year sentences in the first trial, which the Appellate Court later increased to three years, but now the Supreme Court, led by holdovers from SDS and DUI, has set these two former directors free,” stressed Petrushevski.
The MP questioned whether justice had been served for the families of those who perished in the fire at the modular hospital, and once again directed criticism toward the former Minister of Health and current SDSM leader Venko Filipche.
“Is this the justice the families of the victims of the modular hospital fire were waiting for? Filipche, who, despite being a minister, was never even called in for questioning, and now, the brother of former Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi, along with Artan Etemi, are allowed to walk free?” asked Petrushevski.
He added that, in his view, the individuals most responsible for the conditions under which the modular hospital operated could now remain at liberty following the Supreme Court’s decision.
“Filipche is free, and now Besimi and Etemi will join him. The people most responsible for the fire in that unsafe hospital, which lacked even the minimum technical requirements for operation, will now walk free, thanks to the President of the Supreme Court, Afrim Fidani,” underlined Petrushevski.