Shocking reports of recriminations, insults and back-stabbing flowed from Katica Janeva’s Special Prosecutor’s Office all day, as the date of her scheduled questioning draws nearer. The powerful prosecutor is suspected of extortion and abuse of office, and while rival state prosecutors delayed their move against Janeva as long as they could, she should appear before organized crime prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska early next week. Tensions grew as Janeva reportedly threatened to drag all the other prosecutors down with her.

The chaos began this morning, as Janeva ordered that her colleagues are searched as they enter and leave the SPO office. This order comes after most of the team turned against Janeva, denounced her in a shocking press conference a month ago and later, as the charges piled on, insisted that Janeva is solely responsible for the extortion and the abuse of office. The humiliating searches prompted prosecutor Fatime Fetai to reportedly curse at Janeva.

I’m a prosecutor working in this institution for four years now, and not a suspect who needs to be searched every time I go inside or leave. When I returned from my break around 13h, I was stopped by the guard who told me I can’t go in without the content of my bag being examined. He said that the order was given by our boss Katica Janeva, Fetai told the TV24 television.

Other media outlets reported eyewitness accounts that Fetai turned to a camera that is directly linked to Janeva’s office and cursed at her. Fetai and Janeva, along with prosecutor Lence Ristoska, were parts of the trio that was selected to be the face of the SPO in the propaganda campaigns that accompanied the creation of the office. While Ristoska turned against Janeva at the drop of a hat, the day after Janeva’s alleged associates Bojan Jovanovski – Boki 13 and Zoran Mileski – Zoki Kicheec, were arrested on racketeering charges, Fetai stayed loyal for a few days longer, and signed on to the statement made by her colleagues denouncing Janeva only after she returned from vacation. Only a few months ago Fetai effusively praised Janeva and said she can’t imagine an SPO without her.

Janeva hasn’t been charged yet, which allowed her to leave the country for a summer vacation, and many expected she will not be coming back. She did return on Monday, and, according to the Nova news site, she immediately rebuked her team for not standing by her.

During the staff meeting, Janeva threatened all present that “if you don’t defend me, you will go down with me”. One of the prosecutors, present at the meeting, told Nova that Janeva was trying to persuade the staff over three hours that she was abused in the racketeering charges against her and that the colleagues should support her, Nova reported, adding that “the meeting concluded when one of the prosecutors said that Janeva betrayed the trust of the public with her actions and that she should apologize for that. The SPO chief loudly replied that they will all be fired. ‘If I go down, you go down with me. I will make allegations up about you if necessary'”.