Ilija Dimovski said that he, and about 15 other VMRO-DPMNE members of Parliament, were targets of blackmail by the Special Prosecutor’s Office.

We were directly blackmailed, at least 15 of us. Why is only the investigation against Orce Kamcev seen as racketeering, there are at least two other major investigations, with at least two other prosecutors, other than Katica Janeva, who have been or will be exposed to scrutiny in the coming period. There are public reports that these cases are being abused for blackmail. State prosecutors are yet to look into this, said Dimovski during a TV debate.

Katica Janeva’s SPO office initiated dozens of charges, almost exclusively against VMRO-DPMNE officials, in order to remove the conservative party from power. She is now charged with abuse of her position for extorting money from businessman Jordan Orce Kamcev, one of the targets of her investigations.

Nine VMRO-DPMNE members of Parliament were pressured to vote in favor of renaming Macedonia earlier this year. Of them, three faced SPO investigations directly or through close relatives or associates. Three more were being prosecuted by the OJO/PPO office of state prosecutors. After the vote, they were given amnesty, or had the charges against them reduced or completely dropped.