Judge Mitko Sandev, who was named today as the culprit in the latest push by the Zaev regime to undermine the opposition in the run up to the municipal elections, refused to speak to the press. Sandev was reached by the Netpress news site, but insisted that the reporters talk to the President of the Skopje court, Ivan Dzolev.

VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski accused the Zaev regime of using Sandev, who is well past his mandatory retirement age, to try to harm the opposition party in the run up to the municipal elections. Besides numerous other cases initiated against former and current VMRO officials by the Zaev regime, the party as a whole faces two protracted trials regarding its financing. Mickoski in the past said that he faced open pressure from prosecutors linked to Zaev, who are using the trials to block VMRO-DPMNE from running basic functions. Netpress today reported that Sandev himself was eager to get out of the predicament, but that Dzolev is refusing to retire him.

Judge Mitko Sandev is being kept in position despite the fact that he meets the terms for mandatory retirement. This is being done to use him to pressure VMRO-DPMNE with two illegitimate investigations. The goal is to hold VMRO-DPMNE captive, to put a hold on our resources, so that Zoran Zaev and SDSM will be able to compete much more easily in the municipal elections, Mickoski said.

On top of the fact that he should be retired and removed from the trials, judge Sandev is also a member of a committee of a small party of retirees – political activism on the part of judges is strictly forbidden.