Nine police officers accused of approving Puls nightclub licences without checks; defence requests documents

Nine police officers face charges that they gave formal approvals allowing the Puls nightclub to obtain operating licences from the Ministry of Economy without carrying out required checks, defence lawyers told the Criminal Court while asking for documents and proposing witnesses.

Attorneys request records from the Shtip police unit and complain about classified material

At today's hearing the lawyers for the so‑called second group of accused — nine police officers — asked the court to order delivery of minutes, priority reports, telegrams and other documents from the Shtip Regional Police Unit for 2022 and 2023. They also said there has been no answer from the Ministry of Interior on a request to declassify a document needed by the defence.

The defendants in this group are Dimche Avramov, Jane Trajchev, Aleksandar Atanasov, Vlatko Iliev, Aleksandar Temelkov, Vlatko Naumov, Bobi Gidioski, Goce Ivanov and Aleksandar Maksimov. They are accused of abusing their official positions in a way that helped the non‑compliant Puls nightclub in Kochani obtain a licence from the Ministry of Economy. The accused come from Kochani, Shtip, Radovish and Probishtip.

The indictment links the officers' duties to police checks carried out to determine disturbances of public order and traffic safety — elements that must be assessed when a venue applies to the Ministry of Economy for an operating licence. In opening remarks prosecutor for organised crime Spasenka Andonova said the police were obliged to perform detailed inspections after such an application was filed.

Andonova told the court: "It refers to an appropriate number of parking spaces to enable safe traffic flow, for safe arrival and departure from the facility. This assessment is linked to a submitted request to the Ministry of Economy for a license to operate the hospitality facility, so police officers have an obligation, after such a request, to carry out detailed checks and determine whether there were misdemeanor proceedings at the facility for disturbance of public order and peace and whether the facility meets the conditions regarding traffic safety. The specific police officers included in this indictment are charged that in this respect they did not perform their official duties, meaning they did not carry out a complete check or, based on an incomplete check, consent was given, it was then positively assessed and on that basis a license was obtained and in that way the 'Puls' facility was enabled to operate and to make a profit."

Defence teams also told the court that the Criminal Court received information from police that documents related to Puls were taken by the Internal Control unit of the Ministry of Interior and therefore the Shtip Regional Police Unit could not provide the requested files. Most defence lawyers proposed, in addition to calling external witnesses, that their clients — the accused officers — be allowed to testify in court.

The charges are part of the wider investigation into the March 16, 2025 fire at a concert by the group DNK in the Puls nightclub, when unreported and illegally placed pyrotechnics ignited the low sponge and plastic ceiling. Sixty‑three young people, including children, died and more than 220 were injured.

Photo: SDK.MK)