State prosecutors are investigating the work of the Skopje high prosecutor’s office, after prosecutor Mustafa Hajrulahi alleged that he was pressured to drop an investigation into the unlawfully paid bonuses for the now defunct and disgraced Special Prosecutor’s Office.

Speaking with Republika, Hajrulahi said that it is indicative that the investigation began just now, after he voiced his concerns about chief state prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski.

State prosecutors have the right to review the work of the high prosecutor’s office. That is not in question. But no such reviews were conducted in the past five years, over any of the regional high offices. So, it is interesting that ithappens just now. The focus is on the work of prosecutor Jovan Cvetanovski, who leads the case against the former SPO prosecutors. State prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski asked me to thread carefully in this case, and that we can’t allow the VMRO-DPMNE party to receive the status of an injured party in the case, Hajrulahi told Republika.

Hajrulahi says that Kocevski called him on September 19th, after his office received the SPO case.

I told him that there is a prosecutor charged with the case, and that I will see what his position is. I emphasized that I can’t interfere in the work of the prosecutor. Kocevski told me that, be that as it may, this is a sensitive case and again emphasized his position on VMRO-DPMNE. The conversation was conducted in a high tone and I prepared a note afterwards. I notified Cvetanovski, who is visibly concerned, because Kocevski’s statement is a direct threat, Hajrulahi added.

Only days after this conversation, Hajrulahi was informed that his team is under review. The review included prosecutor Lence Stefanova, who is involved in the SPO investigation, and should be exempt from reviewing the work of the prosecutors in this case.

I was informed about the conversation Hajrulahi said with Kocevski. For me, that is a direct threat, the type of which I have not experienced in my work over the years. I was told to be careful. It is true that the case is sensitive, but it will be processes like any other case, Cvetanovski told Kanal 5 TV.

Kocevski denied that the review of the high prosecutors is linked to the SPO case. “It is part of the planned reviews of all high offices”, he told Kanal 5.