English
The operatives of Venko Filipche, Zoran Zaev, and Ali Ahmeti within the judicial system are in action once again. As is always the case when individuals close to SDS and DUI need to be shielded from criminal liability, those placed in the judiciary by them are the first in line to save them, states a press release from VMRO-DPMNE. This time, the Supreme Court—through Afrim Fidani, an appointee of Filipche and Ahmeti—has absolved the directors of the Tetovo hospital of responsibility and cleared them of guilt regarding the tragedy at the modular hospital, which claimed 14 lives.
The case concerning the fire at the Tetovo modular hospital has been sent back for a retrial. This marks yet another shameful decision by a Macedonian judicial system that commands only 2% public trust. “In the initial trial, the then-directors of the Tetovo hospital, Florim Besimi and Artan Etemi, received sentences of only a year and a half in prison. The Court of Appeals subsequently increased these to three years each; yet now, the Supreme Court—led by remnants of SDS and DUI—has set them free,” states VMRO-DPMNE.
The party points out that this is not the justice sought and expected by the families of the victims of the fire in the modular hospital. “Venko Filipche—who was Minister of Health when the tragedy occurred—has not even been called in for questioning. And now, both Artan Etemi and Florim Besimi—the latter being the brother of former DUI Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi—are also being released? No proceedings are being conducted against Filipche; the pre-investigative case against him is being kept ‘in a drawer’ by his own appointees, and now Besimi and Etemi will join him in freedom.
Those most responsible for the catastrophic fire in the modular hospital—a facility built in violation of all safety standards and lacking the minimum technical requirements for a healthcare facility—will now walk free, thanks to a Supreme Court led by Afrim Fidani. Citizens demand and deserve justice; the era of SDS and DUI remnants within the judicial system must—and will—come to an end,” concludes the statement from VMRO-DPMNE.