Supreme Court annuls Court of Appeals ruling on the Llaskarcë accident

The Supreme Court has annulled the ruling of the Skopje Court of Appeals concerning the tragic bus accident near Llaskarcë and returned the case for retrial and a new decision. The Appeals Court ruling had increased the sentences of several defendants.

According to the official announcement, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Council reviewed case number KVP2-86/25 at a hearing held on September 9. The case, publicly known as the bus accident near the village of Llaskarcë, will be retried.

The Supreme Court announced that it had accepted the requests for an extraordinary review of the final ruling, submitted by the convicted individuals through their defense attorneys. As a result, the ruling of the Skopje Court of Appeals, number KZ-979/24, dated April 17, 2025, was revoked, while the case was returned for retrial and a new decision.

Under the Appeals Court ruling, issued in May 2025, the sentences of Durmo Tours company owner Durmish Beluli and transport manager Remzi Miftari were increased from six to 10 years in prison. The sentences of technical inspection station employees Igor Gjorgievski and Goran Dukovski were also changed from five to seven years in prison.

The sentences for Jane Bovarovski and the bus driver, Manoil Trifunovski, remained at five and 14 years in prison, respectively.

In January 2024, the first-instance court found all six defendants guilty of serious criminal offenses against the safety of people and property in traffic.

The accident occurred on February 13, 2019, when a bus belonging to Durmo Tours left the Skopje-Tetovo highway near Llaskarcë. As a result of the tragedy, 16 people lost their lives and more than 30 others were injured. /Telegrafi/