Government Sec Gen Zekiri Arrested, Accused of Abuse of Official Position

Secretary General of the Government of North Macedonia Muhamed Zekiri was imprisoned on Friday evening upon a detention measure issued against him by the Criminal Court in Skopje. Zekiri got a 30-day detention measure after the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime and Corruption (BPPOOCC) filed against him a bill of indictment charging him of abuse of official position. Namely, Zekiri, along with two citizens of Croatia, concluded a contract for public procurement of consulting services with a legal entity without conducting a public call for the procurement, thus damaging the state budget for 795,000 euros. Prosecutor Katerina Kolarevic said that at the moment they do not possess material evidence against Zekiri, but requested the detention measures because according to her, there was a window of opportunity for an eventual escape. Earlier on Friday, when the bill of indictment against him was revealed, Zekiri announced that he is resigning from the position of Governmental Secretary General, after which he went to the court by himself to provide his statement.