When he decided to return businessman Borche Markovski’s passport, the president of the Struga Basic Court, Vulnet Vinca, already met the conditions for retirement.
Vinca was the president of the three-member criminal council that decided to return the passport to Bitola businessman and honorary consul of Belarus in the country, Borche Markovski. As of Thursday, he is no longer a judge due to meeting the conditions for retirement.
The Judicial Council rejected his request to continue performing his judicial function due to untimely submission of the required statement. The council concluded that Vinca met the conditions for retirement on July 18, 2026.
Vinca told news website 360stepeni.mk that he does not feel responsible for the decision to return Markovski’s passport, because they had previously received a positive opinion from the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO).
“We appreciated, but we received an opinion from the authorized prosecutor, the Struga Public Prosecutor’s Office. I do not feel responsible. We have a hearing scheduled for September 2. If he does not return, he will be tried in absentia and his property will be confiscated,” Vinca told 360stepeni.mk.
The Prosecutor’s Office explained to the news website that the Struga Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office gave a negative opinion on accepting this request on June 15, 2026. After the defense filed a new request, the public prosecutor referred the case to the Bitola High Public Prosecutor’s Office. A report was prepared from the referral, and the High Public Prosecutor reached a conclusion that the lower public prosecutor was obliged to submit a positive opinion to accept the defense’s proposal for the return of the temporarily seized travel document.
After receiving his passport, Markovski fled the country to Serbia on July 29, where he owns businesses.
