Former state security chief Saso Mijalkov denied any involvement in the attack on journalist Ljupco Zlatev yesterday evening. Zlatev, who frequently reports on corruption scandals involving Zoran Zaev, and his apparently current associate Mijalkov, was attacked in the Tribeca cafe by a person who he later identified through social media as close to Mijalkov and especially his son Jordan.

In his response, Mijalkov says that he opposes using violence against journalists and denied his involvement.

Neither any of my family members or my security team, which is made up of professionals, were involved in any incident. I’m certain that all details will be clarified soon, Mijalkov said.

He accused the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party of launching media attacks against him and attributed the latest report to this. Mijalkov also denied buying a luxury apartment in Ohrid, which was recently revealed by Zlatev’s Lider news site.