The developing stories of political persecution and rising nepotism in Macedonia intersect over Gjoko Kotevski, the director of the Shutka prison in Skopje.

Kotevski is accused of putting the two former VMRO-DPMNE Goverment ministers Mile Janakieski and Spiro Ristovski in harm’s way, after they were detained on politically motivated charges. The two were attacked a day after the arrest, during a prison yard walk, by members of the Albanian terrorist group which perpetrated the attack on Kumanovo in 2015, killing eight Macedonian officers. Kotevski was pressured to resign by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev after the incident which revealed that the Government is deliberately putting its political prisoners in dangerous situations.

Republika today revealed that Kotevski is also involved in the other major developing scandal affecting the Zaev administration – the allegations of rampant nepotism in which Government officials have their relatives hired in the public administration. Republika has learnt that his wife Katerina Kotevska was hired in the Skopje Public Transportation Company (JSP) only five days ago. When reached on the phone to comment, Kotevski got defensive and only implicitly confirmed that he had his wife hired in a public sector job.

It’s Saturday, I’m with some people, we are working, I will call you once I’m done. Call JSP, they have a director of their own, Kotevski said, later adding that “I’m resigning my post, what nepotism are you talking about then?”