Antonio Jolevski appointed acting senior public prosecutor in Bitola

Antonio Jolevski has been named acting senior public prosecutor at the Bitola Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, replacing Pece Veziroski, the Council of Public Prosecutors announced after its 53rd session.

Council acts after court notifies precautionary measures

At the meeting — held yesterday — the Council said it received notification from the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje that precautionary measures had been imposed against a public prosecutor, including a ban on undertaking certain work activities related to the alleged criminal offence. The Council therefore annulled the earlier decision appointing that prosecutor as acting senior public prosecutor and moved to appoint another prosecutor from the Bitola office to the post.

According to the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption, proceedings were opened on October 7 against a former prosecutor at the Bitola Higher Public Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of the criminal offence of accepting a reward for illicit influence. Investigators say there is evidence the suspect used his real influence and official position to improperly affect the decisions of fellow prosecutors and judges in at least four separate cases within his jurisdiction.

The court acting in the preliminary procedure accepted the prosecution's proposal for precautionary measures after hearing the suspect in the presence of defence counsel and assessing the facts and evidence included in the proposal. The court stated: "Against P. V., who is suspected of the criminal offence of accepting a reward for illicit influence from Article 359 paragraph 3 in connection with paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code, given the fact that the court cannot impose a stricter measure than the one proposed by the public prosecutor, precautionary measures are imposed — confiscation of the travel document and a ban on undertaking certain work activities."

Veziroski was appointed head of the Bitola Higher Public Prosecutor's Office on September 30, 2022. The office he led supervises basic public prosecutor's offices in Bitola, Prilep, Ohrid, Struga and Resen.

Veziroski's name has also been publicly linked to the return of the passport of Borche Markovski, owner of "Markovski kompani", who is accused in a case of procurement abuses at the REK Bitola lignite power plant. After a Struga court decided to return Markovski's passport, he left the country via the Tabanovce border crossing and was briefly held for checks before being allowed to continue to Serbia; later reports said he returned to the country.

The Council appointed Antonio Jolevski — former chair of the Council of Public Prosecutors — as acting senior public prosecutor at the Bitola Higher Public Prosecutor's Office for the duration of the measures affecting Veziroski.

Photo: Printskrin