Hearing against 13 police officers accused over the “Pulse” tragedy postponed as witnesses fail to appear

The hearing scheduled today at the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje against 13 police officers accused of serious offenses against public safety in connection with the tragedy at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kočani did not take place.

The proceedings were postponed because the summoned witnesses were absent. The court said that some summonses had apparently been delivered improperly or marked “not requested,” while for several other witnesses there was no evidence that they had received them.

Prosecutor Spasenka Andonova said that one of the witnesses had confirmed by phone that he had received the summons, but had said he would appear only if transportation to Skopje was provided.

Judge Fanka Jançuleva Mihailovska announced that the summonses for the next hearing would be sent through the police station. She warned that in the event of repeated absences, legal measures would be used, including fines and mandatory detention. The next hearing will be held on September 21.

Dragi Stojanov, the father of Pançe Stojanov, expressed outrage after the hearing over the repeated postponements and called on the court to use all available means.

“We recommend that the court, despite the fact that the witnesses were not brought in, summon them properly, call them and contact them to determine the reason. We are losing time and nerves, and experiencing a great deal of stress when we come here. I call on the court to summon them properly and use all the mechanisms it needs, including, if necessary, bringing them under police escort. Perhaps one of the witnesses is under threat or is not being allowed to come. Let them testify. We recommend that the witnesses come and tell the truth, not be afraid and not give in to threats and pressure,” he said.

Stojanov also claimed that the families were facing pressure from lawyers because of statements they had made about them.

“The lawyers are threatening to file criminal charges against us for what we say about them. We recommend that before filing criminal complaints, they think carefully and put themselves in our shoes for 10 minutes, considering what it would be like if it were their child. If they think that by filing criminal complaints they will get money from me, then things have come to this,” Stojanov said.

The court case concerns the fire that broke out on March 16 at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kočani. Sixty-three people lost their lives in the tragedy, while more than 200 others were injured.