Xemali Saiti, head of the Association of judges, says that the growing scandal affecting what was supposed to be the elite crime fighting unit – the Special Prosecutor’s Office – will affect public trust in the judiciary. The SPO is reeling after its head Katica Janeva was forced to resign two weeks ago, on suspicion that she used her office to extort millions from businessmen she was prosecuting.

Overall, the general trust of the citizens will be negatively affected, even though some of the political structures and some international structures welcomed the arrests which they say wil lbe a new chapter in the fight against corruption and organized crime. But, in general, I believe the events will have a negative effect on the trustworthiness of the judiciary. It might be conducted properly, and to be honest the procedure is now carried pretty publicly but in a folklore kind of a way, and we still have no specific action on the charges. But, either way, the consequences for the SPO are known and they will be negative, Saiti said in an interview with Radio Free Europe.

Janeva, and her suspected accomplices in the leadership of the SDSM party, have still not been charged which raised suspicion that a cover-up is going on, with an attempt to leave just her two lowest associates – Bojan Jovanovski – Boki 13 and Zoran Mileski – Zoki Kicheec as the designated fall guys.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev asked that the SPO is preserved, with its current staff, except that Janeva is replaced with another Zaev loyalist – prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska. The proposal was rejected outright by the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party. According to Saiti, the resignation of Katica Janeva means that her entire handpicked team is out.