A court in Skopje rejected appeals from eight defendants in the latest case aimed against the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, and ordered them to remain in detention.

Those arrested include former minister Mile Janakieski, who is a frequent target of such politically driven arrests and was already badly beaten up in prison once, and also VMRO officials Dimitar Dimovski and Dejan Mitrevski.

The court initially ordered 30 days detention for the eight. They are charged over a construction project that was part of the broad redevelopment of the Skopje city center.