The Appeals Court has four working days to decide on Talir 2 before it lapses
The Court of Appeals must rule on the prosecution's appeal by 31 August 2026; judges will review the case behind closed doors.
The Court of Appeals has four more working days to issue a decision in the Talir 2 case before it becomes time-barred on 31 August 2026.
Judge Daniela Aleksovska Stojanovska on 14 July 2026 announced the first-instance verdict by which former prime minister Nikola Gruevski was acquitted and the confiscation of VMRO-DPMNE's headquarters was denied. On 5 August 2026 the prosecution filed an appeal, and the following day the Criminal Court sent the case to the higher court which must decide on the appeal.
Proceedings in the Appeals Court
The Appeals Court confirmed that no one requested an open hearing, which means the judges will examine the case behind closed doors. According to information, the reporting judge is Lirie Elezi Ajrulau, and the senior public prosecutor is Jovan Cvetanovski.
Jovan Cvetanovski was the prosecutor when Talir 2 first came before the Appeals Court with a verdict sentencing Gruevski to 6 years in prison; at that time he proposed that the case be returned for retrial.
The Appeals Court can either confirm the acquittal or reverse it. Because the case has already been annulled once by the higher court, if the appeals judges decide to annul and overturn it now, they cannot return the case to the Criminal Court but will have to schedule a trial themselves and leave the right of appeal to the Supreme Court — an option for which the remaining time may be too short.
Published in: Macedonia 23 August, 2026 17:13
Photo: press material from the event
