Political dissident Bogdan Ilievski pointed out that the criminal court in Skopje, led by SDSM party loyalist judge Ivan Dzolev, has scheduled 320 hearings in the coming month, at the peak of the coronavirus epidemic. The Zaev regime is relying on dozens upon dozens of criminal cases initiated against its political opponents to pressure the opposition.

Some of the cases would enter a statute of limitations in 25 years but are still considered urgent by the Justice Ministry for reasons that no other creature on Earth would understand. There are reports that at least one judge has been placed in self-isolation because he was in touch with a coronavirus patient, Ilievski says.

Lawyer Elenko Milanov, who is defending the accused in one of the cases initiated against the opposition by the now disgraced Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva said that the trials include at least 15 people, and no social distancing is possible in the courthouse. Most of those present today had no protective gear and only one of the judges on the panel wore a mask.

How long will this go on, until somebody dies, the defendants were saying. Milanov said that he is certain the hectic trial schedule will lead to people contracting the virus. “The Government has banned gatherings of more than five people in the open. And here we are forced to cram together in confined spaces. They should continue the trials where there is some urgency, but now Skopje has surpassed Debar in the number of cases”, Milanov said.

Milanov defends people charged in the so-called Talir case, which the courts and former Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva (who is also on trial for massive corruption and extortion) used to freeze the property of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.