Skopje, 25 March 2026 (MIA) — A local official testified Wednesday that the Municipality of Kochani had tried to block the opening of the Pulse nightclub — where 63 people died in a fire last March — as the building was never zoned for entertainment.

Dragi Ilievski, head of the Municipality of Kochani’s construction land department, told the court in Idrizovo that the nightclub was located in a G2 zone, which is strictly reserved for light and non-polluting industry.

During the hearing, Ilievski pointed out that the land’s industrial designation is fixed. "The zones cannot be changed," Ilievski said. 

"Those parking lots are for light and non-polluting industry, G2, and not for nighclubs or bars," he said.

In October 2012, the municipality initially approved a parking lot request for the site. However, officials revoked it once they heard "rumors" that the owner intended to open a nightclub.

"There were rumors in the city," Ilievski said in response to a question how the municipality found out the owner's intentions to open a nightclub. "So we were wondering how a nightclub could be opened at that location, which is intended for light industry."

The witness also said former Kochani Mayor Ratko Dimitrovski had asked the Ministry of Economy if it had licensed the venue. 

When the ministry did not respond, the municipality asked the State Market Inspectorate to block the permit, citing the lack of proper zoning, Ilievski said.

Ivana Kocevska, attorney for the lead defendant, questioned whether the owner, Dejan Jovanov, ever actually received the notification that his parking lot permit had been canceled.

The defense also noted that other businesses, such as hotels, operate in the same area. Ilievski said that those businesses had obtained legal conversions or "special stamps" for their plots, whcih the Pulse nightclub did not have.

The fire that broke out in the Pulse nightclub in Kochani on March 16, 2025, killed 63 people and injured over 200. The venue was packed with mostly young people attending a concert by hip-hop duo DNK when sparks from pyrotechnic devices set the ceiling on fire.

Judge Diana Gruevska Ilievska is presiding over the trial. The prosecution, represented by a team of 15 public prosecutors, said evidence would show that the Pulse nighclub was a death trap from the beginning, the result of systemic negligence and a series of institutional failures. mr/