Skopje, 3 January 2022 (MIA) – I do not concur that the Public Prosecutor’s Office backs down to political pressure. Had the Prosecutor’s Office been under political influence, it wouldn’t have opened cases to investigate office holders, Chief Public Prosecutor Ljubomir Joveski has said. “I’ve said on several occasions that I do not agree with that kind of assessment and I’m always prepared to present undisputable data - in the past few years we’ve indicted a Parliament vice president, a secretary general working at a ministry; we’ve launched proceedings against judges and public prosecutors and against other office holders,” Joveski tells MIA in an interview. He says he’s aware about the public perception of the Public Prosecutor’s Office being under the influence of politicians and some powerful people. However, he stresses, I’m confident that the prosecutors make the decisions on their own without being pressured from the outside. “This whole time, I’ve been insisting that prosecutors should reach the decisions at the Public Prosecutor’s Office, that they shouldn’t be dependent on politics or on some financial, economic or other centers of power,” the Chief Prosecutors says. When asked, Joveski says he doesn’t think that investigations take too long to be closed, pointing out the Laskarci case, which was closed by the prosecution in three months. “Unfortunately, people lost their lives [in Laskarci bus accident]. We [prosecution] filed an indictment, but the trial takes a long time. I’ve been informed that about 100 hearings have been scheduled or held, but the court is yet to reach a verdict,” he says in the interview. In this case, Joveski says, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is not to blame, it has to be analyzed whether there is preparedness for the court to reach a verdict. Speaking about the Tetovo modular hospital fire, which killed 14 people, the Chief State Prosecutors says that almost all evidence has been collected, adding that the analysis of the German experts engaged in the investigation is pending. “Prosecutors right away started establishing facts and collecting evidence. Two Skopje public prosecutors were sent to Tetovo to assist the local prosecutors. It is already known that German experts had offered themselves to help and we accepted the offer. Also, we put at a disposal four prosecutors from Skopje and Gostivar to help the Tetovo prosecutors in case they come across some issues while collecting evidence,” says Joveski. Regarding the bus accident in Bulgaria, which killed 45 Macedonian passengers, the Chief State Prosecutor reveals that the Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a case to determine whether an authorized official had failed to take actions although being authorized to do so. “The procedure is ongoing at the Prosecutor’s Office, evidence is being gathered. Once the evidence is collected, the public prosecution will reach a decision,” Joveski adds. Bulgaria’s Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the case, he stresses. “Thanks to having good cooperation, we arrived at the crash site investigation and the Bulgarian authorities also allowed authorized officials from our interior ministry and the forensic institute to be part of the process,” Joveski tells MIA. After Bulgaria asked for legal assistance, he adds, North Macedonia in only a few days interviewed witnesses, provided documents about the transport agency and about the bus and the forensic experts started taking DNA samples from relatives of the fatalities to help them identify the bodies. Speaking to MIA, Joveski says he feels obliged to explain the procedures of the Public Prosecutor’s Office since “we usually encounter lack of public understanding.” “Prosecutors themselves cannot take actions on their own, they have to cooperate with other relevant institutions, especially in terms of collecting evidence that should be provided by other institutions, establishing facts. This takes time,” he notes. According to him, the Public Prosecutor’s Office should increase its efficiency after four investigative centers have been set up across the country, namely two in Skopje and in Tetovo and Gostivar. “The newly-established bodies will increase the efficiency of the Public Prosecution to collect evidence and conduct investigations, which will allow the public prosecutors themselves to launch proves without waiting for the relevant bodies,” the state top prosecutor says. The 2022 budget of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is up by nearly 14 percent, Joveski reveals. Also, he adds, under the law on the public prosecution’s office, for the first time 0.4 percent from the national budget will be singled out for the prosecution. “We’re aware that it cannot be done right away due to the crises gripping the country, but I expect we will reach this percentage in a few years,” he says. Asked to comment on the state of affairs involving the EU accession chapters 23 and 24, regarding rule of law and fundamental rights, Joveski notes that the whole judicial system in the country should be reformed. “I have to say that the latest EU report noted a progress of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the fight against organized crime. It also noted that the Prosecutor’s Office and the country in general should implement the Judicial Reform Strategy,” top prosecutors Joveski says. In the interview, he stresses that the main prosecutor’s office should focus more on implementing information technology, training of its staff as well as on case management. Daniela Markoska Aleksovska Photos: Frosina Naskovikj Video: Andrej Brankovikj