Skopje Appeals Court rejected a request from former state security chief Saso Mijalkov to be released from detention.

Mijalkov offered nearly 11 million EUR in bail, which were refused once, even though the prosecution accepted the terms. He is sentenced to 20 years in prison in two politically motivated trials, including over the 2015 wiretapping scandal, but both sentences are up for appeal. In February, he apparently briefly fled the country but returned as it provoked public outrage and likely international pressure.

After being a top VMRO-DPMNE official for over a decade, Mijalkov made an arrangement with Zaev, providing him with votes for the imposed name change and helping with his constant attempts to create factions in the VMRO-DPMNE party.