At the beginning of Monday’s trial, the defense of some of the defendants in the Pulse nightclub fire in Kochani requested that the Public Prosecutor’s Office review the circumstances for their prosecution and stop the proceedings, following the decision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption last week to stop the prosecution proceedings for seven police officers for serious crimes against public security.
Defense attorney Petre Shilegov, who is defending the Ministry of Economy’s former employee Shefket Hazari, requested that the briefing of the Public Prosecutor’s Office OCC on stopping the proceedings for officials and on the expediency and economy of the proceedings be stopped and that the Public Prosecutor’s Office review the circumstances presented by the Public Prosecutor’s Office OCC, emphasizing that for some of the current defendants, the charges may be identified and withdrawn.
“The Prosecutor’s Office is contradictory about the same event and the same circumstances against officials. For me, the outcome with this stance of the Prosecution Office is certain. I think it is more appropriate to reconsider the Prosecutor’s Office instead of continuing. One trial costs the state up to EUR 150,000. Then the economics of the procedure should also be seriously reconsidered. I know that we are not at that stage, but I will provide you with a copy of the briefing,” said Shilegov.
The Trial Council’s head, Judge Diana Gruevska Ilievska, confirms that the Court is familiar with the briefing and that it has requested an official decision, but emphasized that the procedure cannot be stopped until the competent prosecution has made a statement.
The public prosecutor in question from the Specialized Department for Prosecution of Criminal Offenses Committed by Persons with Police Authorizations and Members of the Prison Police at the Public Prosecutor’s Office OCC, informed at a briefing on January 30 that after conducting investigative procedures involving 27 police officers, an indictment against 13 police officers was filed to the Skopje Criminal Court.
