The Criminal Council of the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje has approved the release from pretrial detention of Përparim Bajrami, the lead defendant in the “Lottery” case, accepting real estate worth €1,140,781 as bail.
He will be released from Skopje prison once the mortgage has been registered with the Cadastre. The court announced this in a statement reported by TV21.
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Bajrami’s defense submitted a request on October 14 for his pretrial detention to be replaced with bail. In reviewing the request, the Criminal Council also considered the statutory time limit for pretrial detention in this case. The court explained that detention cannot exceed 60 days. Since Bajrami voluntarily surrendered on September 9 to begin serving his detention, that period expires on November 8.
The decision became final today after both the public prosecutor responsible for the case and the other parties involved in the proceedings waived their right to appeal.
To ensure Bajrami’s attendance at trial, the court has imposed precautionary measures in addition to bail. His passport will be confiscated, and he is prohibited from obtaining a new document for crossing the national border. He must also report to the court regularly.
The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje indicted Bajrami on August 13 on a charge of “Abuse of official position and authority.” According to the court’s statement, the offense carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Pretrial detention had previously been ordered at the prosecution’s request because Bajrami could not be reached by law enforcement authorities. The acceptance of bail and the lifting of pretrial detention do not halt the court proceedings against him, which will continue.
