Parents of Puls victims urge prosecutors to act if there is evidence against owner Dejan Jovanov

Parents of the children who died in the Puls nightclub fire in Kocani have urged the Public Prosecutor's Office to act if there is evidence of other criminal offences by the venue owner, first accused Dejan Jovanov. The parents reacted on 16 March 2025 to an announcement from the Criminal Court that, according to the law, the first accused would leave detention on 3 October.

Parents demand immediate steps from prosecutors

The association 16 March 2025, which brings together the bereaved families, issued a public message saying they will not quietly watch legal deadlines expire while the system delays. In their statement they wrote: "Our children have no expiry date, justice must not run out."

In a longer passage the association added: "We, the parents of the children we lost in the most terrible night for Kocani, will not peacefully observe how legal deadlines expire while the system again delays. If there are findings against the first accused Dejan Jovanov – Deko for other criminal offences and legal grounds for action, then the institutions have an obligation to act now. No accused must be saved by the slowness of the system. Because behind this tragedy we see years of failings, silence, permission and inaction. Our children were not victims only of the fire. They were also victims of a system that did not protect them when it should have."

The Criminal Court of Skopje has explained that, according to case law, after expiry of the detention measure the court sets additional precautionary measures. The court also published a formal statement: "The detention measure, determined against the first accused Dejan Jovanov, by the criminal council is extended to 03.10.2026, having in mind that the indictment was evaluated on 03.10.2025 and in accordance with legal provisions the detention measure may last for at most one year from the evaluation of the indictment. In order to secure uninterrupted presence in the further part of the court proceedings, the Court, according to previous practice, ex officio, after the expiry of the legal deadline for the detention measure, determines additional precautionary and securing measures for the accused."

Other defendants in the case — Jane Janchevski, Todor Jovanov and Bekim Hadziu — have been released on bail guarantees totaling more than €800,000.

Sources within security structures say that, if the court assesses the need, it may impose a security measure that would place the Puls owner under supervision in case there is a risk of flight. Unofficially, prosecutors handling the case are reportedly not ready to give up on keeping Jovanov in custody; colleagues are expected to consult before the next hearing about options to extend detention.

Photo: press material from the event