The next hearing in the trial of 13 police officials accused of serious offenses against public safety in connection with the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani did not take place as planned. The Basic Criminal Court in Skopje decided to postpone it.
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The postponement was caused by the absence of the summoned witnesses. The court explained that some summonses had been improperly served or marked “did not request,” while for other witnesses there was no proof that the notices had been delivered to them.
Prosecutor Spasenka Andonova said that one of the witnesses had confirmed by phone that he had received the summons, but had stated that he would appear only if transportation to Skopje was provided.
Judge Fanka Jančuleva-Mihailovska announced that the summonses for the next hearing would be sent through the police station. She warned that if the witnesses were absent again, the measures provided for by law would be used, including fines and compulsory appearance. The next hearing will be held on September 21.
After the hearing, Dragi Stojanov, the father of Panče Stojanov, criticized the repeated postponements and called on the court to apply all available mechanisms.
He also said that the victims’ families were facing pressure from lawyers over the statements they make publicly.
“The lawyers are threatening to bring criminal charges against us for what we are saying about them. We will recommend that, before bringing criminal charges, they think carefully, put themselves in our place for 10 minutes and think about how they would feel if it were their child. If they think that through criminal lawsuits they will get money from me, that is what they will get,” Stojanov said.
Stojanov announced that a march would be held on Wednesday to mark a year and a half since the tragic event.
“Let people come and support us. By supporting us, they are supporting the effort to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, since the children were allowed to enter the nightclub in the hope that they would return safely,” he said.
The trial centers on the fire that broke out on March 16 at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani, where 63 people lost their lives and more than 200 others were injured.
According to the indictment, the police officials who were on duty at the nightclub did not stop the party and did not prevent the use of pyrotechnic devices./Telegrafi/
