The hearing in the case against Gjoko Ristov, a judge at the Court of Appeals, continued today at the Criminal Court in Skopje with the testimony of witnesses. Two people testified before the panel: one called by the Prosecution, the owner of a mobile phone repair shop and store, and the other by the defense, a lawyer who participated in the search of Ristov’s parents’ home in Negotino.
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The next hearing has been scheduled for October 6, when the questioning of the defense witnesses is expected to continue, including Fehmi Stafa.
The prosecution witness, who works as a cybersecurity specialist at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and runs a phone sales and repair shop in Skopje, answered a question from prosecutor Iskra Haxhi Vasileva. He was asked whether Gjoko Ristov had gone to repair a mobile phone on December 3, 2025.
“I did not receive a phone from the gentleman, and I provided my full details regarding the phones received through my system,” the witness said.
During questioning by lawyer Zvonko Davidoviq, who is representing Ristov, the witness explained how devices brought in for servicing are registered. “We write down which phone has arrived, the phone number and the name of the person who brought it,” he said.
According to the witness, the Prosecution had asked him to verify whether a specific Samsung phone had been brought to the shop. Through the official record, he informed them that no such device was at the shop. Asked by Gjoko Ristov whether, on December 3 after 7 p.m., he had brought in a black Samsung phone with a cracked screen and asked whether its data could be extracted, the witness said he did not remember such an incident.
After the testimony ended, prosecutor Iskra Haxhi Vasileva asked the Court to examine the case files involving the two defendants, Marian Stoevski and Fehmi Stafa, in which judge Gjoko Ristov is currently a defendant.
With this testimony, the Prosecution concluded the presentation of its evidence and the procedure for presenting the defense evidence began.
Lawyer Aleksandar Varella, called as a defense witness, told the Court about the search conducted at the home of Zdravko and Donka Ristov in Negotino. He provided details about the second search, which was carried out over two days in January.
Varella explained that he had been called by Angel Ristov, Zdravko’s son, and had then gone to the village of Negorci, from where Zdravko was taken.
“The search was intensive, and we thought everything was over. But they told us they had to come again the next day. The second day began with them checking the same rooms and places. They also searched the back part of the house, which has a separate entrance,” he said.
According to the lawyer, during the second search the police focused on the kitchen and began checking the tiles because they suspected that some of them sounded different when struck.
“They removed five tiles, then five more; they fell and broke. I was there, along with the owner, Zdravko, and two police officers who were removing the tiles. Zdravko objected: ‘Don’t break the tiles, or remove them slowly; you will have to put them back.’ But they could not find anything and began breaking them all one after another. They reached the last row, where a hole appeared. Zdravko, as someone who was surprised, simply said: ‘Oh, that happened.’ It had happened. I asked him what it was, and he only said, ‘That.’ Then the police asked him what was there, so they would know whether to call in specialists. Zdravko then said, ‘There’s no need, it’s money.’ The police then began taking it out, in such a way that part of it had to be broken in order to remove it. They took it out, and I think they recovered 13 packages. The police officer directing the operation repeatedly made phone calls and spoke aside; I think he was consulting someone on how to proceed. When they found the money, a forensic technician was called to take photographs,” the witness said.
He said that after the money was discovered, he went downstairs and asked Zdravko why he had not mentioned it. According to the testimony, Zdravko replied that he had not thought the search would go that far, given the way the first search had been conducted.
“He told me: ‘I didn’t know they would go that far; I didn’t want the children to know that I had money.’ I told him, ‘You know they may take it from you now,’ and he told me, ‘Let them do whatever they want; the money is mine,’” the witness said.
When he asked Zdravko about the amount of money, the lawyer said, he answered without hesitation that it was more than 300.350 thousand euros.
“By this, he made it clear to me that he knew about the money, but he did not tell me as his lawyer,” the witness concluded.
