Nenad Saveski: Detention time-limits must be respected; Supreme Court reviews lower-court rulings, not indictments

Republic Public Prosecutor Nenad Saveski rejected accusations that courts act under pressure or in the service of the prosecution, responding on September 11, 2026 to reactions over rulings in the "Laskarci" case and the trial involving former Karposh mayor Stevcho Jakimovski. He said the Supreme Court reviews the legality of lower-court decisions, not the indictments themselves, and warned that statutory time-limits for pretrial detention must be respected in the "Puls" case.

Supreme Court reviews rulings, not charges

Answering questions from journalists after a meeting of the Council of Public Prosecutors, Saveski dismissed claims by some former judges and lawyers that first-instance courts hand down verdicts without properly assessing evidence, only for higher courts to overturn them.

"I cannot accept, and I absolutely consider it to be a wrong impression that the courts make decisions under pressure, under influence or in the service of the public prosecution. Judgments are made in the name of the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia, based on the application of the laws and the evidence contained in those cases," he said after today's session of the Council of Public Prosecutors.

On whether the problems in the "Laskarci" and Stevcho Jakimovski cases lay with the indictments, Saveski stressed that the Supreme Court had not assessed the indictments but rather the decisions issued by lower-instance courts.

"The decisions of the higher courts are in relation to the decisions of the lower courts. The Supreme Court has not evaluated the indictments, but the decisions of the appellate and first-instance court," Saveski said.

Turning to the "Puls" case and the possibility that owner Dejan Jovanov – Deko could be released because statutory detention limits are near exhaustion, Saveski reminded that detention durations are set by law and must be observed.

"The duration of detention is regulated by law and by maximum time-limits. In this case it is certain that those time-limits will soon be exhausted," he said, noting that prosecutors have other lawful options available to secure a suspect's presence.

Saveski declined to pre-judge whether the prosecution in the "Puls" case would seek alternative measures, saying such tactical decisions are for the prosecutors handling the file.

He also said the deadline to appeal a disciplinary commission decision in the matter involving prosecutor Jovan Cvetanovski has already expired and that he will not file a complaint. Regarding criticism that he occupied a "honorary" seat next to the prime minister at the Independence Day celebration, Saveski said he sat where government protocol indicated and did not consider himself privileged compared with other guests.

Photo: press material from the event