The protest started from Revolution Park and headed first toward the Kočani Municipality building, where the offices of the State Market Inspectorate are also located. Then the crowd continued their march past the State Labour Inspectorate, the Public Revenue Office, the Kočani police station, and the court building.

In front of each institution, parents and citizens raised their voices to demand explanations for the negligence and inaction that, in their belief, paved the way for the tragedy.

Aleksandar Naunov, speaking before the Court in Kočani, posed a series of questions about institutional failures. “In front of the Municipality we asked about the omissions and inaction that led to the tragedy. In front of the State Labour Inspectorate we asked how it is possible that not a single inspection was carried out in 13 years. In front of the Ministry of Interior we asked why the lives of citizens were not protected,” he declared.

He continued by also directing questions at the State Market Inspectorate, the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, the insurance company of the facility, and the owner of the club, demanding accountability for the failures that, according to him, resulted in the loss of lives. Naunov underlined that the judicial process is not an ordinary trial, but a “test for justice and citizens’ trust in the institutions.”

“From the Court we do not expect decisions driven by pressure. We want a decision based exclusively on facts, evidence, law, and conscience. Your decision will not bring back our children, but it can prove that in this country no one is above the law and that human life is the supreme value,” Naunov stated.

The parents stressed that their demand for justice does not stem from revenge, but from responsibility toward the victims and future generations, with the sole purpose that a similar tragedy never happens again.

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According to the Prosecutor’s Office, evidence secured from the Ministry of Economy and Labour, specifically from the Tourism and Hospitality Sector, was submitted at the hearing. It concerns the circumstances under which the venue began operating, although it had not fulfilled the formal and essential conditions, as well as the minimum technical requirements necessary for operation.

Prosecutor Natasha Saramandova presented some of this evidence before the court, including a request dated October 10, 2012, submitted by owner Dejan Jovanov for obtaining a cabaret license.

During the hearing, the defense requested that the evidence be read from the section of mandatory documents attached to the request, but the Prosecutor’s Office replied that the evidence has never been read in its entirety and that it cannot be read word for word.

As the Prosecutor’s Office pointed out, the request itself clearly shows that it refers to an address on Dimitar Vlahov Street bb, where the headquarters of Klasik M is located, while at that time there was no registered branch there. Also, according to it, all the fulfilled conditions had been verified, with the exception of the part concerning the provision of a sufficient number of emergency exits for 200 visitors.

The fire at the “Pulse” nightclub in Kočani broke out on March 16, 2025, during a performance by the group DNA, and is considered one of the most serious tragedies in the country’s recent history. The trial is being led by Judge Dijana Gruevska-Ilievska, while the Prosecutor’s Office is represented by a team of 15 public prosecutors.

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