A hearing in the trial of 13 police officers, accused of serious offenses against public safety related to the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub in Kochani, was postponed today at the Skopje Basic Criminal Court.
The postponement was caused by the absence of the witnesses scheduled to testify. The court reported that some summonses were returned as undelivered or marked “unclaimed” while for others, there was no proof of receipt.
Prosecutor Spasenka Andonova said that one witness had confirmed by phone receiving the summons but indicated he would attend only if he could secure transportation to Skopje.
Judge Fanka Janchuleva Mihailovska announced that summonses for the next hearing would be served via the police station. She warned that if the witnesses failed to appear again, legal measures—such as fines and compulsory escort to court—would be enforced. The next hearing is scheduled for September 21.
Following Monday’s hearing, Panche Stojanov’s father, Dragi Stojanov, expressed dissatisfaction with the repeated postponement and urged the court to utilize all available legal measures.
“We recommend that the court, even though the witnesses have not been brought in, duly summon and contact them to ascertain the reason. We lose time and peace of mind, and endure great stress when coming here. I urge the court to issue proper summonses and utilize all necessary mechanisms, including bringing them in under police escort, if required. Perhaps one of the witnesses is under threat or is being prevented from attending. Let them speak out. We urge the witnesses to come forward and tell the truth, not to be afraid, and not to yield to threats or pressure,” said Stojanov.
He also pointed out that the families were facing pressure from the lawyers regarding, as he put it, “what we say about them.”
“The lawyers are threatening to file criminal charges against us for what we say about them. We would advise them to think carefully before filing such charges, to put themselves in our shoes for ten minutes and consider how they would feel if it were their own child. If they think they can get money out of me through criminal charges, is that really what it’s come down to for them?” said the victim’s parent.
