Skopje, 6 December 2023 (MIA) - The Ministry of Justice said it has sent a request to the competent Turkish authorities that Ljupcho Palevski, the prime suspect in the murders of Vanja Gjorchevska and Panche Zhezhovski, be kept in detention until extradition proceedings are completed. The Ministry notes that it expects Turkey to immediately act on its request.

"The Ministry of Justice received an official notification from Interpol at 9:20 am today, according to which Ljupcho Palevski, wanted by international warrant, has been arrested in Turkey. The Ministry of Justice has started the extradition proceedings and is collecting all the documents from the institutions required for the extradition. The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Skopje have been contacted in order to properly complete the files so that the Ministry of Justice could further act. Coordination is underway with all relevant institutions so as to act immediately and earlier than the time limit of 40 days for presentation of the formal extradition request," the Ministry of Justice said in a press release.  

According to the Justice Ministry, the extradition proceedings require that all documents are received, extradition request is prepared, with all documents translated in Turkish, and sent via DHL (previously electronically through Interpol). 

As regards the legal procedure for extradition, the Justice Ministry says it acts on preparing the extradition request upon receiving a notification that an individual wanted by an international warrant is located or arrested in a foreign country, so that the individual is surrendered to the requesting country. 

Ljupcho Palevski-Palcho, the prime suspect in the murder of Vanja Gjorchevska and Panche Zhezhovski, was arrested in Turkey on Tuesday, and the Skopje-based Criminal Court ordered the remaining four suspects to spend another 30 days in detention as requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office which opened an investigation into two brutal murders. This is the latest information that the authorities gave late Tuesday on the murders of 14-year-old Vanja Gjorchevska, who was found dead near Skopje on December 3 after she was reported missing on November 27, and 74-year-old Panche Zhezhovski who was found dead near Veles on December 3 after he was reported missing on November 24. 

The Public Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday that an investigation is launched against five people, of whom one is charged with abduction and murder, three are charged with abduction and accessory to murder, whereas one for accessory to abduction.

Photo: MIA archive