VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski accused the Skopje Appeals Court of making politically motivated decision, after the court ordered a retrial in a slander case against the party. Organized crime prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska is suing VMRO after the party used her likeness in a campaign video for the 2020 elections.

The opposition party accused Ruskoska and judge Dobrila Kacarska of perverting justice on orders from Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. The two were heavily involved in the on-going persecution of opposition officials, and were paired on the April 27th trial – which was used to blackmail members of Parliament to vote for the imposed name change, and which was declared as unfair even by top Government officials such as President Pendarovski.

The court of first instance rejected Ruskoska’s charge against the party, given that it is permissible political satire and criticism of a public official. But the Appeals Court ordered a retrial.

The people who should be leading the fight against organized crime are engaged in political persecution. That is why we have no fight against corruption to speak of. The Appeals Court accepted her protests of having suffered personal pain and anguish. But what of the pain and anguish suffered by our citizens while they are left without vaccines by officials who are chasing after bribes, who see regional mobsters roaming across our country with fake passports issued by Minister Spasovski, who are asking where did the money from the Racket scandal end up… They will not scare us and they will not defeat us, Mickoski said in response to the court’s decision.

Besides leading the April 27th trial, Ruskoska was also the leading prosecutor in the Racket case, where she stopped the investigation short and did not investigate the clear evidence implicating Zoran Zaev in the scandal. The evidence she refused to present before the court could be brought before a judge in a week, but it is still uncertain whether it will finally be presented.