In a statement released by the Basic Court Skopje 1 defending the court’s decision made at the preliminary hearing stage, Judges have complained that they felt pressurized into commenting on the decision reached in the preliminary hearing, by repeated and aggressive media coverage which questioned the Court’s findings. The Judges are dismayed that the same media did not give equal coverage as to the Court’s reasons for their ruling, even after extensive questioning on the matter.
The political opposition, along with many legal experts have expressed grave concerns as to the legality of the Court’s decision. The grounds for the opposition’s concern is that the decision was made at an ill-timed point in the legal proceedings, some, even calling the decision incompetent. The Court, however, continues to defend its decision, going on to state, that the ruling made was consistent with Macedonian Criminal Law. But, there is a bigger question here, and that is, after all that has transpired in the past few days, will the judges job be left in the hands of any possible Special Prosecutor, who would enjoy most support from from the guarantors of the Przhino Agreement?
International reaction to the Court’s ruling has been uniform and consistent. The US Embassy urged “The Government and all other political parties, should by all means necessary, make sure any Special Prosecutor could function with full autonomy as stated in the Przhino Agreement.
From the German Embassy came a clear message that there were high expectations for an appointing of a Special Prosecutor, on which an announcement is scheduled for September the 15th. They went on to say that a Special Prosecutor ” should provide an independent and transparent , as well as a comprehensive legal resolution over the severe charges which have arisen due too the intercepted telephone recordings.
“From the European Commission, Maja Kocijanic, spokeswoman for Commissioner Johanne Hahn, stated ” the European Commission does not comment on individual cases, moreso preliminary hearings or incomplete legal proceedings” Kocijanic went on to add the EU expects “the Special Prosecutor to be appointed in full accordance with the Przhino Agreement.
The British Embassy issued a statement which made clear their opinion “allegations arising from the wiretapped conversations are very serious, warranting a full and transparent investigation should be conducted.”
