Investigative journalist Ljupco Zlatev held an impromptu press conference in front of a police station in Skopje, where he was summoned today to be questioned about the publication of an audio tape that raised suspicions of corruption against Dragi Raskovski, Secretary General in the Zoran Zaev Government.

The police officers asked me two questions, whether I stand by the report, which is redundant, because I signed it, and the identity of the whistleblower who gave me the tape. Their main goal here seems to be to locate those who pointed out to the crime, and not investigating the crime itself. I told the I will never reveal my source, Zlatev said.

The audio tape was recorded during a meeting chaired by Raskovski, which included officials of the M-NAV air traffic control agency, which was in the midst of procuring an expensive new system from the Italian Leonardo company. The tape, apparently made by a disgruntled M-NAV official, has Raskovski discussing the procurement, pushing M-NAV to conclude the deal despite legal issues with the offer and using racist slurs against Italians, Roma and “sub-equatorial nations”.

The ZNM association of journalists issued a press release warning that the questioning of Ljupco Zlatev violates his right to protect the source of his information. “It is a rare case in European countries that journalists, who report on possible abuse of the system, are being questioned. This practice can be seen as pressuring the journalists and can contribute to self-censorship”, ZNM said in its press release, before offering Zlatev legal aid.