SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
28 people, three of whom (the nightclub owner’s son and two members of the DNK bank) are hospitalised, have so far been covered in the prosecutors’ pre-investigation over the Kocani fire.
The first five were arrested several hours after the tragedy, the last ones were deprived of liberty on Thursday, but the list is not final, according to the authorities.
Among those covered are also ex-Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi, a former state secretary at that institution, former Protection and Rescue Directorate Director Bekim Maksuti, the person who signed the document saying the Pulse nightclub met conditions for a license, nightclub security members, the manager of the company, event organisers and two inspectors.
Bekteshi and Maksuti are also among the 19 people currently in short detention. Considering the second short detention measures expire on Friday (21 March), the Prosecutor’s Office is expected to launch a formal investigation, which will make it known exactly how many people will be suspects and of which specific crimes they will be suspected of. The majority have been detained under the suspicion of grave crimes against general safety.
This report by Kanal 5 had come before the new information about Papazov, Ilijev, and Dimitrovski. When it comes to the case against the seven police officers is being run as a separate process. According to 1st Deputy PM Izet Mexhiti, there will be justice in the Kocani nightclub fire case.
“Our fight for a better Macedonia will make sense only when those against whom the system has been unjust will feel that ‘justice’, after all, is not a term captured by the mob controlling the state, which was unfortunately the case for years in the past, and that their calls for justice will be met with a response and reaction”, he pointed out, extending condolences to the families of those killed in the fire.
