The MAN association of journalists in Macedonia expressed its support to Branko Geroski as he reveals allegations of a racketeering ring that includes officials from the SDSM ruling party and the owner of a pro-Government media outlet.
Geroski published a series of essays in which he describes in detail a recount of several blackmail attempts carried out by a major official from a ruling party and a flamboyant media owner, aimed at business owners and municipal officials. Geroski claims that in one case the group nearly scared to death the owner of a small hotel, while in another, they successfully collected 200.000 EUR from a former Mayor of a Skopje district using wiretaps held by the Special Prosecutor’s Office to pressure him. A week after the first revelation Geroski, who recently parted ways with the Zaev regime he used to support, claims that he is receiving threats and pressure from the ruling party.
MAN demands that those engaged in threatening Geroski to stop immediately and to allow this journalist to do his work without obstruction, as he is allowed under law. MAN also demands that state prosecutors investigate his allegations and takes urgent action to uncover this group that involves a top party official and a media owner. Prosecutors are bound by law to act after receiving public word about a crime, and what they have by now is more than enough, MAN said in a press release.
To protect himself from charges, Geroski conceals the names of the party official he identifies only as “Kiki” and the media owner “Koki”, but the readers can easily discern the members of the alleged group. According to MAN, the public had known about the activities of the pro-Government media outlet for a while now, and the financial crimes police department has begun an investigation in the cases, but they have not been brought to a stage to push charges.
Comments are closed for this post.