On Monday, after the end of the process over the Target-Fortress case, Criminal Court Judge Ilija Trpkov said he would file the verdict to the parties in order for the appeals deadlines to start.
According to him, the process is another chance to deliver justice, considering the statute of limitations concerning the actual wiretapping activities expired as a result of the 2023 Criminal Code changes.
“However, we mustn’t allow that to happen when it comes to the destruction of the equipment used to wiretap the conversations”, the Judge noted.
Lawyer Ljupco Svrgovski, part of the defence, voiced satisfaction with the acquittal of ex-Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska. However, he said that an appeal would be filed over the verdict against Toni Jakimovski, former chief at the Security and Counterintelligence Administration.
Jakimovski, as well as the two former intelligence officers, Goran Grujevski and Nikola Boskovski, were also ordered to return 1.4 million euros to the budget. Valentina Simonovska was given two-year suspended sentence that will not be activated if she doesn’t commit a new crime in the next five years.