Vesna Dameva, recently appointed head of the Judicial Council, was dismissed today in a tense session of the Council. Her removal comes days after the press leaked a letter sent by US Ambassador Angela Aggeler to the main judiciary institutions as well as to the Government, in which the Ambassador protested the fact that a number of politically charged criminal cases were allowed to lapse because of statute of limitations.

Selim Ademi, the long serving deputy head of the Judicial Council, supported by the DUI party, led the push to remove Dameva – who herself is candidate of the co-ruling SDSM party. The removal is accompanied by leaks that Dameva concealed the letter – sent two weeks ago – from other judges. She was accused of this by her predecessor as head of the Council, Pavlina Crvenkovska, indicating that even SDSM party appointed members to the Council are divided among them.

I’m being dismissed in an illegal way, without determining the grounds for this decision. But apparently someone’s order needs to be fulfilled, Dameva complained.

The Judicial Council is tasked evaluating the work of the judges and can remove them from office. The Council is debating whether to remove Appeals Court judge Enver Bexheti, who is accused of slow-walking the infamous wiretapping case against former state security chief Saso Mijalkov. The case lapsed, which prompted accusations that the Government is again making backroom deals with Mijalkov, as it has done in the past.

The opposition BESA party issued a statement accusing its main rival DUI of removing Dameva in a scandalous way, against the law, and imply that DUI is trying to protect judge Bexheti while making a deal with Mijalkov.

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said that the letter from Ambassador Aggeler was shared with all institutions that were supposed to see it, and added that he agrees with the Ambassador that some cases are being slowed down on purpose.