VMRO-DPMNE has reacted to the decision by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption to close the investigation into the 19 modular hospitals. According to the ruling Macedonian party, five years after the case was launched, the institution headed by Islam Abazi concluded that there was no reasonable suspicion of abuse of official position and authority.
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The party claims that responsibility for the installation of the modular hospitals lies directly with Venko Filipche, who was Minister of Health at the time. According to the party, instead of reviewing the standards for these facilities, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, at the government’s proposal, amended the Construction Law through an expedited procedure, classifying the modular hospitals as urban equipment. Their installation and authorization required approval from the Ministry of Health—that is, from Filipche himself.
“This means that Venko Filipche bears direct responsibility for the installation of the modular hospitals and, consequently, for the tragedy that occurred in Tetovo as well,” VMRO-DPMNE said.
The party added that Filipche had not approved minimum technical specifications and had not prepared an electricity study. For this reason, it said, he is also directly responsible for the fire on September 8. The reaction also mentions that the modular hospital in Tetovo was built directly above the reservoir of a petrol station.
VMRO-DPMNE also criticized the case’s delay, saying the file had remained in a drawer for years, first with Vilma Ruskovska and later with Elizabeta Josifovska, both prosecutors at the former Special Public Prosecutor’s Office. According to the party, the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office, under Abazi’s leadership, ultimately decided that there were no grounds for criminal prosecution.
“It is particularly concerning that Abazi, just one month before the end of his term as head of the prosecution, carried out his final orders to protect his superiors and save Venko Filipche from criminal prosecution,” the reaction said. However, the party stressed that closing the case did not mean the truth had been permanently buried, as the presentation of new evidence could lead to the reopening of the proceedings.
In its statement, VMRO-DPMNE promised to continue seeking a full investigation into the tragedy in Tetovo and accountability for all those who committed negligence or abuses. According to the party, justice for the 14 victims must not remain in a drawer.
