"Oncology 2" trial restarts in Skopje; Vasev and Nuhi deny guilt
Proceedings at the Basic Criminal Court were reset after a change in the judicial panel; prosecution says the budget was harmed by almost €36 million.
The trial known as "Onkology 2", against former medical and former economic director of the Clinic for Radiotherapy and Oncology in Skopje, Nino Vasev and Nehad Nuhi, opened again today at the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje and began from the start after a change in the composition of the judicial panel.
Judge Slavica Naumova‑Josifovska will again preside over the case, but the procedure was reset because one member of the panel was replaced. The same trial had been restarted in November 2025 after a different change among the jurors; then the parties agreed that previously presented documentary evidence and heard witnesses would only be read into the record rather than called again.
The indictment was approved by the court in June 2025. According to the prosecution, Vasev and Nuhi abused their positions, engaged in fraud and embezzlement between 2018 and 2022, allegedly procuring medicines unlawfully, concealing transactions with fictitious tenders and diverting part of therapy supplies, damaging the budget by nearly €36 million. Separately, Vasev and two other oncologists face a different case, "Onkology 1", over alleged negligent patient treatment.
Marija Gjorgeva, representing the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organised Crime and Corruption (the specialised prosecution office), told the court at the opening that the prosecution stands by its previously submitted opening statements.
Both defendants again denied criminal liability at today’s session. "No. I do not feel guilty for the acts I am charged with," first defendant Nino Vasev told the court. Second defendant Nehad Nuhi said he does not feel guilty and that the indictment is unclear to him: "Not in linguistic form. I do not understand the indictment and I do not know why I am charged because this indictment has nothing to do with my work at the Clinic," Nuhi said.
In his opening defence, counsel Bobi Spirkovski said the indictment rests on assumptions and constructed narratives rather than concrete evidence and asked for an acquittal because of lack of proof. "The defence will show that reasonable doubt about the offence attributed to Vasev cannot exist because of systemic obstacles and that the acts charged are legitimate administrative actions and could not have been committed by him. There is no evidence of direct intent or acquired pecuniary benefit," Spirkovski told the court.
Defence lawyer Aneta Begova objected to newly proposed evidence from the prosecution, noting that the same material had earlier justified pre‑trial detention of the accused. "I do not know why it is now invalid, if it is known that these people were detained for 13 months on the basis of this evidentiary material. Why is this evidentiary material not valid now and new material is submitted. For me, 13 months of detention is not a measure, but a punishment," Begova said.
The court informed the parties that it had received from the prosecution a list of additional evidence before today’s hearing, including financial and material documentation, requests and communications from the Clinic for Radiotherapy and Radiology, the Ministry of Health, the Health Insurance Fund and several suppliers.
Photo: press material from the event
