Talir 2” and OBRM-PDUKM’s Property: The Left Seeks Clarification on Prosecutors’ Decisions

The Left has reacted to recent developments at the Prosecutor’s Office regarding the “Talir 2” case, raising doubts about how the matter involving OBRM-PDUKM’s property is being handled.

According to the party, Nikola Gruevski was found guilty at first instance in 2022 and sentenced to six years in prison. In the same ruling, the court ordered the confiscation of the party’s headquarters and other properties. However, following amendments to the Criminal Code, the Court of Appeal overturned the ruling and sent the case back for retrial. The process ended with the defendants being acquitted and the property not being confiscated.

The Left warns that the criminal prosecution is expected to become absolutely time-barred on August 31. For this reason, the party believes that, at this stage, the decision concerning the property involved in the proceedings is of crucial importance.

Another concern raised by the party relates to the removal of the prosecutor who had represented the case for seven and a half years. According to The Left, this move undermines the principle of institutional continuity, particularly when the proceedings are nearing completion.

The party also opposes the reassignment of the appeal at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office to prosecutor Jovan Cvetanovski, a decision justified on the grounds that he had previously handled the case.

The Left notes that in 2023, Cvetanovski had sought to have the conviction at the time overturned and the case sent back for retrial.

“The prosecutor who drafted the indictment can be replaced before the case is concluded, while the prosecutor who sought to have the conviction overturned must remain, on the grounds that ‘this was the procedure,’” the party stated.

Levica is calling on the state public prosecutor and the heads of the prosecutorial hierarchy to explain why the principle of continuity was not respected in the case of the prosecutor who handled the case for years, while the same principle is now being used to justify its reassignment to Cvetanovski.

According to the party, the case is taking on an even greater political dimension because OBRM-PDUK is in power and its property is also at the center of the proceedings.