SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
“I hope this action makes very clear that the United States can and will use any and all tools at its disposal to hold accountable those individuals whose criminal activities undermine the security, stability, and governance values of North Macedonia,” US Ambassador Angela Aggeler said at a press-conference on Tuesday regarding the blacklisting of ex-Deputy PM Artan Grubi and Skopje Court of Appeals Judge Enver Bexheti.
As she said, because of their efforts to interfere in and tarnish the workings of the judiciary, and under the designation, they and their immediate family members are barred from entering the United States.
“Additional sanctions are also under consideration in Washington,” the Ambassador added.
The evidence that the US was reviewing and able to gather, both in North Macedonia and in Washington, was readily available, she explained.
“And so, I find it interesting that some of the criticism I saw on social media, against us, the United States, for these designations, is, why do you do this when there’s no prosecution and there’s no action here? Because we have no law enforcement or judicial structure in this country.
We are required by law to designate and sanction those individuals for whom we have strong evidence of criminal corruption. What happens from there is up to law enforcement and the judiciary in this country. But I will say that if we can put together that evidence, so can they,” the Ambassador stressed.
