The hearing on the fire at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kočani is taking place today in the courtroom at Idrizovo Prison, near the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje. The defense is expected to present its evidence and has announced that it will call 240 witnesses.
At the previous hearing, the Public Prosecutor’s Office challenged three expert reports and the direct and cross-examination of construction expert Petre Ruseski. He prepared an expert report for the first defendant, Dejan Jovanov, and two other defendants. According to the prosecution, Ruseski does not meet the legal and professional criteria or the methodological standards required for his report to be considered objective and reliable evidence.
Të lidhura
None found
Technical consultant Osmanli Jorgo testified in defense of Milka Edrovska, an engineer at “Venci Proekt.” Dejan Jovanov had used documentation from the company for designs and licenses. Through Jorgo’s testimony, the defense called into question the legal validity of the 2012 “basic project,” arguing that it was incomplete, had not undergone a review, and played no decisive role in securing the licenses.
Jorgo, who prepared the expert report and opinion at Edrovska’s request, told the court that the 2012 document she had prepared through “Venci Proekt,” titled “Basic Project,” was incomplete. According to him, it lacked several of the stages required under the Construction Law.
He also testified that Milka Edrovska had carried out the building’s interior layout and organization before the document was prepared.
The parents of the children who died in the fire issued a statement to the media in response to the “Venci Project” expert’s claim that the project documentation had been prepared before “Pulse” was rebuilt.
The trial is presided over by Judge Dijana Gruevska-Ilievska, while the prosecution team consists of 15 public prosecutors.
The trial began on November 19, 2025, eight months after the catastrophic fire on March 16, 2025, which broke out during a performance by the band DNK. As a result, 63 people died and more than 200 others were injured.
