Parents at Puls trial demand answers: why wasn't the concert stopped if the venue lacked permits?
Families say the venue had no legal documentation and ask the court to establish responsibility on the basis of evidence.
Parents of those who died in the Puls nightclub fire demanded answers at the trial on Monday, asking why the concert was allowed to go ahead if the venue lacked legal paperwork to operate.
During the session, firefighter Blagojcho Paunov, who was on duty at the Territorial Firefighting Unit in Kochani on the night of the blaze, testified that crews found an entrance blocked by trapped people and that the venue's firefighting systems were not functional. He said that in some rescues pulling a single person free required two or three rescuers.
Parents seek responsibility based on evidence
The hearing concerns 13 police officers; parents attending the trial said they want responsibility to be established from the facts and not left to assumption. They pressed for clarity on why the event was not prevented if the space did not meet legal requirements.
Addressing the court, the parents said: "The Puls nightclub did not have legal documentation for operation and holding a concert. The concert should have been prevented before it started, and the hazards removed in time. We, the parents of the children who died, ask: How will you prove that your clients are not responsible for failing to take timely measures, when the consequences are 63 dead and 218 injured? We are not seeking blame without a trial, but the truth and responsibility to be determined based on the evidence," they said.
Prosecutors and defence counsel continue to present and challenge testimony and documents; the parents say their goal is to have the court draw conclusions from the evidence about institutional and individual responsibility for the tragedy.
Photo: press material from the event
