SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
Former ministers, directors, state secretaries, and authorised construction inspectors are among the new suspects in the Kocani fire case.
The expanded investigation has covered ex-Economy Ministers Valon Saracini and Driton Kuqi (both of whom who were part of previous VMRO-DPMNE-DUI cabinets), former State Market Inspectorate Director Viktor Dermendziev, current Minister without Portfolio, Shaban Saliu, in the capacity of former head of the Protection and Rescue Directorate (from 2018 to 2017), his successor, Adnan Dzaferovski, and the current holder of the position, Xhevat Selami.
Kuqi, who currently serves as Ambassador to Norway, stated on Saturday he would get on the first plane and return to North Macedonia.
“I’ve always chosen to walk the straight path, even when it was the hardest. I’ve spoken when others stayed silent, and I’ve stood tall even when I felt alone. I believe in justice for the common good. On the first available flight, I will be in Skopje – not to explain myself, but to affirm that transparency and trust are the only path forward”, he said on social media.
All 19 new persons are suspected of grave crimes against general safety, the Kocani Prosecutor’s Office explained.
According to the authorities’ suspicions, from 2012 to 16 March 2025, everyone, with regards to their respective actions and competences, failed to act at all according to regulations on protection measures, thus causing danger, of big proportions, to the life and bodies of people, as well as to property.
“There are suspicions that their unlawful actions and oversights, in continuity, led to the Pulse nightclub, from the very start, over a longer period of time, and all the way up to the fire, continuing to carry out hospitality activity without meeting legal conditions at all and through violation of all safety rules with regards to the life of persons who would go to the facility”, the Office added.
As it was added in Saturday’s press-release, as a result of their inaction, during the use of pyrotechnics on 16 March, while the DNK band was performing, the fire was caused, killing 61 persons and injuring another 197.
