The violence in front of Centar Municipality’s building – the second indictment, the first for Gruevski

This investigation is about the incidents in front of Centar Municipality’s building in 2013, which after SPO’s investigation, turned into an indictment for 14 persons for perpetrating violence, and the principal defendant in this investigation is the then Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski

15 September 2016 – The second indictment by the SPO in the middle of September 2016, presents evidence which according to the SPO show the guilt of 14 persons accused for the violence in front of Centar Municipality’s building, which occurred several months after the local elections in 2013, won by the opposition candidate Andrej Žernovski.

During the procedure for altering or nullifying the already adopted Detailed Urban Development Plan, “all of a sudden” people started gathering in front of the municipal building, demolished part of the fence, broke the windows and injured several Councilors.

SPO’s investigation regarding this case, previously led by the Basic Public Prosecution Office, and which also derives from the wiretapped conversations, showed that the gathering of the people wasn’t coincidental at all, but organized and spurred directly by Nikola Gruevski, the then Prime Minister and leader of VMRO-DPMNE. He instructed the secondary defendant, the then Minister of transport and communications, Mile Janakieski, on how the whole action should be executed. Here’s what the prosecutor Fatime Fetai said in her explanation:

The evidence showed that in June 2013, the principal defendant intentionally requested, whereas the secondary defendant acquiesced, and with the assistance of the third, fourth and fifth defendant, instigated a part of party’s members to organize themselves in group and perpetrate severe violence against the mayor of Centar Municipality and against the Councilors, members of the councilors’ group in the Centar Municipality who are affiliates of the opposite political option. The analyzed evidence by this prosecution office shows that the motives of the principal defendant for such request are purely lucrative, i.e. intention to protect the business interests of the party’s leadership and its close business partners. In fact, the exhibit contains one more conversation, delivered by us, between one former high bearer of the executive power, covered in the indictment and one well-known Macedonian businessman. That particular conversation is just one small confirmation for the abovementioned motives. The given phone conversation occurred on 13 October 2013 at 10 PM, 2 minutes and 49 seconds and lasted 56 seconds.

All details from the presentation of this indictment are available here (in Macedonian).

All details regarding the media reactions related to this indictment are available here (in Macedonian).

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